Snow Falls in the Present
by KuroiWinter
Summary: It all began because of amanattō and something ominous, but strangely familiar . . . and it ended in a way most thought impossible. ToshiroxOC
1. Chapter 1: An Impromptu Holiday

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters or settings, Tite Kubo does.

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><p><em>Snow Falls in the Present - Chapter 1: An Impromptu Holiday<em>

Walking around the Seireitei, Hitsugaya Toshiro paused to glance to his left. Inhaling deeply, the smell of amanattō filled his senses. Instantly alert, he turned towards the scent, momentarily forgetting about his missing Lieutenant.

Having been deprived of the sweet confectionary for almost two months – his grandma hadn't been sending any lately – he was all too ready to just shunpo off recklessly towards the scent.

However, since he was also a captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, he also had responsibilities. And his current one was a ridiculous search for Matsumoto. He could just imagine the places he could find her: a bar, his office, the street, Rukongai . . .

Shaking his head, he decided to make a tough decision and forced thoughts of amanattō to the back of his head, trying to focus. Jumping onto a nearby roof, he searched for Matsumoto's reiatsu, locating her, not so surprisingly, in his office. And he would bet his soul that she wasn't working, on the contrary, she was probably passed out on his couch, a bottle of sake in her hand and any documents she couldn't hide somewhere, stuffed down her shihakusho.

Grimacing at the very thought of going back, the white haired captain's permanent frown deepened.

He was so wrapped up in thought that the arrival of Abarai Renji went completely unnoticed.  
>It was only after ten minutes, when the strangely nervous presence of Renji started to annoy him that he turned around and addressed the red headed Lieutenant.<p>

'What?'

'C-captain Hitsugaya!' the captain in question raised an eyebrow when Renji stuttered, and wondered what had disturbed the man so, 'I have an urgent message from the Head Captain,'

Toshiro turned to face him fully, now concentrating fully, 'What is it, Abarai?'

'All Captains and Lieutenants are required to take two days holiday starting tomorrow,' Renji's voice began at his usual volume and speed until the words 'two days holiday', where it petered out to a rapid, unintelligible mutter.

'Lieutenant Abarai!' Toshiro barked, 'Repeat the message clearly or I'll have to inform Captain Kuchiki about your incompetence,'

Renji went white, his tattoos standing out harshly against the now pale skin, he raised his head from staring at the floor and looked at the young captain, eyes dark with fear, 'Yes sir,' he paused, taking a deep breath, 'All Captains and Lieutenants are required to take two days holiday, sir! Starting tomorrow, sir!'

'Thank you Abarai,' the air around the pair grew icily cold, 'You are dismissed,'

Trying his hardest not to shiver, Renji turned and used shunpo to make a hasty retreat.

Toshiro sighed, rubbing his face, thinking, _A holiday? What's the meaning of this?_

* * *

><p>With a few quick shunpo, Toshiro was standing outside his office, still debating on whether or not he was going to go in, and still wondering what he'd see.<br>Making up his mind and moving quickly, to not allow himself time to change it, he opened the door and walked in.

Instantly the temperature dropped and Matsumoto found herself shivering slightly, hugging the barely warm sake bottle to her chest.

'Matsumoto!' the dark, furious voice of her captain made her turn in her sleep, mumbling something. It was only when ice had started to creep up the couch that she woke.

'Captain!' as she rose abruptly, crushed documents slid from under her body and behind the cushions. Toshiro couldn't help but be relieved that his mind had exaggerated _that _part.

'What were you doing, Matsumoto?' his expressionless but freezing voice made her twitch.

'Nothing!' she tried to hide the sake bottle but her head was spinning much that she ended up dropping it.

'I can see that!' he snapped, bringing his reiatsu back under control and allowing the frost to recede from the room, 'Where were you this morning? I've been looking for you for half a day!'

'That's so sweet of you, Captain,' she cooed as she attempted to stand, 'I was just with Izuru and Hisagi dri-,' she cut herself off groggily.

'I see,' the short captain walked past her, sitting down at his desk with a sigh, 'Did you receive the message?'

'What message?' Matsumoto looked up from gathering the pieces of sake bottle, her pale blue eyes sparkling, 'Something good?'

'The Head Captain has ordered that all Captains and Lieutenants have two days off beginning tomorrow,' he waited for her outburst of excitement but instead tears welled in her eyes, his eyebrow twitched, 'What?'

'You won't let me will you, Captain?' he voice trembled, 'You'll make me do all of that paperwork,' she pointed to the piles of paper stuffed under the couch.

He frowned darkly, trying not to smirk, 'It's an order from the Head Captain so I can't do much to stop you,' he held up a hand before she could speak, 'But if you don't work hard today, then I'll make it doubly hard for you when you come back,'

'Really!' she completely, and quite selectively, ignored his last statement, 'Captain you're so nice!'

Tears forgotten, she sprang forwards, 'Let me hug you to my bosom!'

He blinked as she flew towards him, aware that, if he dodged, she'd probably make a mess of his paperwork and spill ink on his desk. As it was, she'd probably attempt to jump the desk to reach him anyway.

'Bakudo 61, Rikujōkōrō,'

Six beams of yellow light speared Matsumoto and she blinked, frozen in her path towards him. Peering over her shoulder, Toshiro wasn't too shocked to see Kuchiki Byakuya standing in the doorway, eyes closed pensively.

'Kuchiki,' Toshiro rose from his seat and ignored Matsumoto's squeak as he passed her, 'Is there something I could help you with?'

'Have you seen my Lieutenant?' Byakuya's stoic voice was coloured ever so slightly with annoyance, 'You were the last person he needed to notify,'

'Abarai notified me,' he kept a straight face effortlessly, smirk perfectly hidden, 'And then he used a surprisingly quick shunpo to retreat. I haven't seen him since,'

'I see,' Byakuya turned away, before pausing, 'If you see him, please let me know. He was planning on going to the World of the Living tomorrow with the 3rd and 5th seats of the 11th Division and I needed a word with him before he left,'

'I will,' Toshiro turned away again as the emotionless man used his famous shunpo to vanish. He had a pretty good guess what the other captain wanted to talk to his Lieutenant about – a certain, short shinigami with the name of Kuchiki Rukia. No doubt Byakuya was worried for his little sister's safety.

'The World of the Living?' Matsumoto's voice reached his ears as the kido binding her was released, 'I want to go too!'

'What you do on your holiday is none of my concern,' he snapped at her, 'Don't bother me with your endless chatter on the latest human fashions,'

'But Captain!' she blinked at him innocently, 'Won't you come too? I'm sure Orihime will let us stay with her again,'

He worked hard to stop his stomach from turning over at the thought of Inoue Orihime's cooking. The orange haired girl really did have _original, unique _tastes.

'Just go alone,' he sighed, 'And don't spend all of your money!'

Unfortunately, as usual, Matsumoto had left without listening to his last words, presumably going to tell the others that she was, most definitely, going too.  
>He wasn't that concerned about her leaving, after all, he might actually get some peace without her around.<p>

Thinking this way, he reseated himself at his neat desk and finished off both his and his Lieutenant's paperwork, hardly pondering what he'd do on his holiday.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I was thinking that maybe the title won't make any sense . . . yet . . . but oh well :P

I'm not certain how long this could get, but I'm hoping none of the characters are too OOC.


	2. Chapter 2: Because of amanattō

_Chapter 2: Because of amanattō_

The next morning, the Seireitei was alive with noise and bustling people. Since none of the division's Captains or Lieutenants were on duty to tell people what to do, most of them got a holiday as well. It would be chaos if anything 'bad' was to happen.

Toshiro was jumping along the rooftops in the eastern sectors of the Seiteitei rather aimlessly, at a loss of what to do since, when he'd arrived at his office in the morning, it was barricaded off with several layers of strong kido. He got the message that, when Head Captain Yamamoto said 'holiday', he really meant two days without any real work, and didn't try to break through it.

He was about to go to the Senkaimon to see Matsumoto off – despite the fact that she'd probably try to drag him along as well – when he smelt that same amanattō from the day before.

Since he was officially off duty, he decided that he may as well go and investigate as, even if he failed to locate it, the scent was coming from Junrinan and that was where his grandmother lived. If the amanattō belonged to someone or simply could not be found, his grandmother would be sure to have some.

Just as he sensed Matsumoto's reiatsu vanish, along with Abarai, Madarame, Ayasegawa and Kuchiki, he set of briskly.

* * *

><p>Around a quarter of an hour later, Toshiro found himself on the edges of Junrinan, the Rukongai's first district.<p>

The sweet smell was strong so he turned in its direction, ready to shunpo that way. Pausing, he thought that there was a slight possibility that someone knew about his intense liking for the sweet beans and had set some sort of trap with them to lure him in. However, the usually scowling shinigami found his lips twitching into a smile at the absurd thought. He _was _a captain, after all, so even if some strange soul had decided to trap a captain as a morning exercise, he would easily be able to escape.

Still struggling to keep a straight face, he used some more shunpo to take him to the top of a waterfall.

The smell was the strongest here, and he looked around. The waterfall flowed over smooth white rock before plummeting about a hundred meters to the bottom, where it pooled before continuing along as a small stream. He realised that he knew where he was – this place was on the very edge of Junrinan and no one really came there as they thought it was cursed (or something like that) as the leaves on the trees seemed to follow a different season pattern to the rest of Rukongai.

At the moment, while the rest of the Soul Society enjoyed a pleasant spring, the leaves on the trees below him were the bright colours of Autumn.

Toshiro searched for any traces of reiatsu, but sensed nothing. However, he could clearly smell the beans and also see a figure dressed in black below.

Frowning slightly, he jumped from the ledge he was on and dropped, falling until he landed lightly on the grass below.

Looking around, he saw that person he'd spotted from above and blinked.

'The person', was an oddly pale girl who was sitting on a flat rock, some distance away. She had midnight black hair that hung just below her shoulders, untidy but relatively straight apart from some stray wispy strands. Shorter pieces fell around her face and she had an untidy fringe, thicker over her left eye.

Since her eyes were currently closed, he couldn't tell what colour they were, but at that moment, he was staring at her odd attire.

Her shitagi was the usual white, along with her tabi, and she wore regular zori. But her hakama, while still black, was much less 'loose' than normal, and her shihakusho, also black, resembled either an Espada's or Kurosaki Ichigo's bankai coat.  
>The sleeves were long but form fitting, opening only near ends, and it remained tight around her waist. A white, faintly crimson tinted obi was also present at her waist.<p>

Interestingly, despite the fact that she gave off no reiatsu, he was inclined to think she was a shinigami, due to the kind-of-shihakusho she wore and also because of the katana resting beside her.

The hilt wrapping and sheath were black and the rectangular tsuba was silver with gently curving lines embossed on it. Apart from the colour difference, it was almost similar to Kuchiki Rukia's zanpakuto. Toshiro found himself wondering if the shikai would look similar too.

Suddenly realising that he was standing there doing nothing, Toshiro released the unconscious hold he's had over his reiatsu and stepped forwards.

Dark brown eyes with a hint of crimson opened and blinked at him.

The girl paused a moment before speaking, 'You're a part of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads,' she glanced at his haori, 'Hitsugaya Toshiro, Captain of the Tenth Division,' her voice was almost expressionless.

'That's right,' he didn't show his surprise, 'Who are you?'

There was a slight hesitation before she answered, 'Kumori Kurayami,'

He paused, mentally noting the new information, 'Are you a shinigami?'

Kurayami's eyes darkened as she looked at the white haired captain, 'Yes,' then she glanced up and met his turquoise eyes, 'Are you here to kill me?'

Toshiro blinked, 'No,' he wondered if he should tell the truth, 'I just smelt amanattō,'

He couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for his new acquaintance as the look of utter confusion that passed across her face was priceless.

'Amanattō?' she still sounded indifferent but he could sense her surprise.

'Ah,' he didn't have anything else to say, 'Yeah, amanattō,' suddenly remembering what she'd asked, he added, 'Why would I be here to kill you?'

'Can I trust you?' her eyes were locked with his, searching for an answer.

'Yes,' he frowned, 'I guess,'

She seemed to relax ever so slightly as if she'd seen what she needed to, 'I just thought that maybe I'd let my reiatsu flare for a second and someone was going to come to eliminate me,'

'Why?'

'Because I'm not just a shinigami,' she didn't break his gaze, 'I'm a Vasto Lorde too,'

* * *

><p>Toshiro's mind was spinning, <em>What? <em>he thought, _Did she just say Vasto Lorde? Vasto Lorde as in the most powerful class of menos grande?_

'You don't have a mask,' he broke her gaze, 'Or a hollow hole,'

'I'm not going to hollowfy just to remove your doubt,' Kurayami's tone was blunt.

'How can you be here then?' he gestured to their surroundings, 'Are you an Espada?'

He'd thought that they were all dead.

'I'm not an Espada,' she sighed, 'And I came here through a senkaimon from the World of the Living,'

'Senkaimon?' his confusion escalated.

'I am still a shinigami. I was never a Human or a Hollow,' she spoke like she was informing him of daily news in the Seireitei, 'I became a Vasto Lorde when I entered Hueco Mundo,'

'Entered Hueco Mundo?' he was at a loss for words, simply echoing her words, all thoughts about amanattō forgotten.

'I was hunting a group of Hollows and I passed through a garganta with them. As soon as I found myself in the desert, my shihakusho changed and I just became a Lorde,'

'_Just became'? _he thought incredulously, then, _No wonder she thought I was here to kill her._

'So why did you come to the Soul Society?' he asked finally.

'Because its more interesting than Hueco Mundo,' she said simply, then her eyes darkened, 'And much less lonely,'

'Did you know about Aizen?' his blood boiled in cold rage at the thought of that man, her last words not registering in his mind.

'Of course,' she closed her eyes, 'I was in Hueco Mundo at the time when the Substitute Shinigami and his friends broke in. I fought Grimmjow after Nnoitra nearly killed him, and Yammy too,'

Toshiro remained silent, thinking over everything she'd said. If it was all true, then the Soul Society probably owed her for eliminating the last Espadas. However, he knew that it would be almost impossible for her to be accepted into one of the Divisions.

A thought struck him, 'You said you were hunting a group of Hollows, did you belong to one of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?'

'I have always been a shinigami, but I was never part of a Division,'

Silence followed her comment and his thoughts drifted.

'Amanattō,' her sudden, deadpan statement made him blink, returning his attention to the girl sitting in front of him.

She was holding out her hand in which a small packet of sweet smelling confectionary lay.

He walked over and accepted it.

Then he sat down on the cool grass, opening the paper to reveal the beans inside.

'What are you going to do?' she asked after a while.

He didn't look around at her, but kept his gaze on the running water, 'Nothing. It's my holiday and I don't see any reason why you would need to be executed,'

'Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya,'

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

So now amanattō has been introduced *hooray* and let's not forget Toshiro's strange new acquaintance . . .


	3. Chapter 3: Serious Matters

_Chapter 3: Serious matters_

A loud banging on the door caused Toshiro to raise his head from his desk and frown.

'What is it?' he opened the sliding panel to reveal two of his least favourite people. Kiyone and Sentaro, Third Seats of the Thirteenth Division.

_Oh dear, _he thought dejectedly, staring down at their crouching forms. His mind was still trying to process what had happened earlier on in the day with Kuromi Kurayami and he wasn't up to dealing with these two.

'What's wrong?' he asked, dreading the loud outburst that usually followed.

'Captain Ukitake would like to speak to you,' Kiyone said with surprising, and slightly disturbing, seriousness.

'Immediately,' Sentaro added in the same level way.

Feeling edgy, he followed the silent pair all the way to the Thirteenth Division offices. Ukitake Jushiro was, despite being respected by the younger captain, often on Toshiro's 'I need to avoid him' list.

As he stepped into Jushiro's small, pond-surrounded house, Toshiro tried to think of an excuse just in case stuffed toys, candy or other such items were thrust upon him.

However, he needn't have been worried as Ukitake was kneeling before a table with an absolutely serious expression.

'Captain!' Toshiro almost jumped when Kiyone suddenly burst out with all of her usual energy, 'I've brought Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro to you like you asked!'

'No! _I_ was the one who brought him here!' Sentaro rounded on the short girl.

'No, you made more noise than me so you didn't follow your orders as well as I did!' As usual, Toshiro could hardly believe that the short and outspoken girl was related to Captain Unohana's shy Lieutenant.

'Calm down you two,' Jushiro smiled at them, 'You're both dismissed now, try not to cause too much trouble,'

'Yes sir!' they both shouted, before disappearing, still arguing.

'Ukitate,' Toshiro left it as a question.

'Hitsugaya, it's nice to see you,' the older man gestured to the table, 'Do sit down,'

'What did you wish to speak to me about?'

'The World of the Living,' Jushiro poured some tea into delicate cups, 'An abnormally high reiatsu was detected there this evening but it vanished before the Department of Research and Development could get a good reading on it,'

'What do you want me to do?' Toshiro was suddenly worried for his Lieutenant as, despite her infuriating nature, she was still an important person in his life.

'Nothing,' Jushiro spoke calmingly, sipping his tea, 'I just wanted to let you know because the Head Captain and I have agreed that, if whatever it is appears again, you'll be the captain to be sent to the World of the Living. The four shinigami who left this morning should return tomorrow evening, but they'll accompany you again if you are required to go,' seeing the young captain about to protest, he continued quickly, 'They would have the most knowledge of the reiatsu as they would have felt it first hand,'

Toshiro sighed, 'You're right. Thanks for letting me know,'

Jushiro just nodded and told him to drink his tea, 'Oh, and when Kuchiki gets back, please tell her to report to me immediately,'

* * *

><p>'Why'd you come back?' Kurayami didn't sound surprised, but then again, she was like Byakuya when it came to showing emotion.<p>

'I like it here,' Toshiro sat down once again in the same spot as before.

He was still thinking over what Ukitake had said and he had decided to return to see if his strange acquaintance was still at the waterfall just to keep his mind off things before Matsumoto and the others returned.

He'd visited his grandmother on the way and she'd managed to produce a watermelon – how, he didn't know – and so he was cutting that open as he sat.

'It's the wrong season for watermelons,' the dry remark from behind him made him blink.

'I know,' he muttered, concentrating on not wasting a single piece of the juicy fruit, turning, he offered the black haired girl some, as a way of thanking her for the amanattō. She accepted and took a small bite as he turned back around, eyes on the sky.

'You hate Aizen,' another expressionless comment but this one wasn't so trivial.

'Uh-huh,' he fought to keep his emotions and reiatsu under control but the grass around him started to frost over.

'Why?' she seemed completely unaffected by the dramatic drop in temperature, even as ice grew over the watermelon slice she was holding.

'He hurt many people who I held dear to me,' his eyes narrowed even as his reiatsu flared, 'He had no conscience,'

'I see,'

He turned around, not bothering to hold in his reiatsu anymore, ice forming over the whole clearing, 'What about you?'

'I never met Aizen,' she wasn't looking at him, 'I only know what he did, and didn't do,' he thought she was going to stop talking, but she continued, 'Did you ever meet Ulquiorra?'

'No,' Toshiro frowned slightly, wondering why she asked.

'But you've heard of what he did? And what he failed to do?'

'He was the Cuatro Espada, the fourth Espada,' Toshiro recalled what he'd read and heard, 'He manipulated Inoue Orihime to come to Hueco Mundo and serve Aizen. He was killed by Kurosaki Ichigo,'

'Aizen Sosuke,' she spoke as if reciting something, 'Former Captain of the Fifth Division, traitor to the Soul Society and ruler of Hueco Mundo. The man who stole the Hogyoku and aimed to create the Oken. Final battle fought with Kurosaki Ichigo. Sealed by Urahara Kisuke,'

'What's your point?' Toshiro asked a few moments later.

'You know the main action that Ulquiorra performed and who killed him. But you don't know how he felt doing those things or why he did them. I can't say it's exactly the same for me in regards to Aizen, however, since I never met him to judge his personality, I only have what I've heard or read which doesn't say much at all,' she paused, 'What you hear is always slightly biased towards the speaker's opinion. It is hard to maintain absolute equality when recounting events such as those,' her eyes darkened, 'And it's probably the same for all of the Espada and what people know about them,'

'You knew Ulquiorra?' he asked, just to change the subject, despite the fact that her words made perfect sense.

'No, I never met any of the Espada properly apart from the two I finished off,' she brushed the ice from the watermelon, 'However, while in Hueco Mundo, I was aware of everything that the Espada were doing, before and after Aizen's arrival,'

Toshiro remained silent after that and simply enjoyed the watermelon.

* * *

><p>It was mid-afternoon when he sensed Matsumoto's reiatsu.<p>

Sitting up from where he'd been leaning against a tree, napping, he turned to Kurayami, not too surprised that she was sitting in the exact same place as before.

'I have to go,' he stood and adjusted his zanpakuto, 'And, since this is the last day of our holiday, it could be some time before I come back,'

He was surprised when she stood, revealing herself to be about as tall as Inoue Orihime (but with a completely different figure), and walked over to him, holding out another sweet smelling packet.

'Captain Hitsugaya,' she addressed him as he took the packet, then, in the same second, she used an impressive shunpo to vanish.

_Just like Captain Kuchiki, _he thought in mild amusement before using his own shunpo to take himself to Matsumoto.

* * *

><p>'Captain!' Matsumoto Rangiku's loud and cheery cry sounded as Toshiro arrived at the senkaimon, 'Look at this!'<p>

She attempted to show him the contents of the shopping bag she carried, with the others being held by the two 11th Division members and Abarai, but he silenced her with a glare.

'Ukitake said there something appeared in Karakura Town with abnormally high reiatsu, did you sense it?'

'You're no fun, Captain,' Matsumoto whined but everyone else ignored her.

Ayasegawa Yumichika tilted his head to one side, surveying the serious faced captain, 'Of course. It was quite ugly,'

Madarame Ikkaku gave his slightly frightening grin, 'But it was strong! A weak shinigami'd probably get crushed,'

_That strong then, _Toshiro noted to himself, his permanent frown deepening slightly.

'Did you say Captain Ukitake?' Kuchiki Rukia appeared from behind Renji and Toshiro realised that he'd mistaken her for a pile of shopping bags due to the fact that they were hanging off every available body part.

'Matsumoto,' Toshiro gestured his lieutenant forwards, 'If Kuchiki gets injured carrying all of those bags,' a few harmless sakura petals floated past, 'Someone's really going to let you have it,'

Rangiku paled and hastily took all of the bags from Rukia, apologising.

'Kuchiki,' the petite girl's head whipped around, 'Ukitake asked me to tell you to report to him as soon as you got back,'

'Yes sir,' she turned to go, 'Thank you sir!'

Then a quick shunpo had her disappearing in Jushiro's direction.

He noticed that Renji hadn't said anything, and, turning, he realised it was because he was carrying two more bags with his mouth.

He held back a sigh, 'Matsumoto, get rid of all those bags and then meet me in my office,'

As she nodded, he flash stepped away.

* * *

><p>'What did it feel like?' as soon as Rangiku stepped through the door, she found herself being bombarded with questions.<p>

'Something powerful,' she frowned as she tried to remember, 'And cold,'

'Is that all you can remember?' Toshiro sighed, wishing that she was more reliable.

'Sorry, it's like the sensation has been muffled. I can't remember properly,'

He glared at her, 'You better not be lying,'

She just smiled at him innocently.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I wonder if Rangiku's memory is actually that bad . . . XD  
>And who's the owner of that reiatsu? haha<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: The World of the Living

_Chapter 4: The World of the Living_

One week later, Jushiro called for Toshiro again.

Throughout the week, the young captain had only managed to find time to return to the waterfall twice, and both times he'd learned nothing more about the girl. Still, the quiet area was a definite relief from Rangiku's constant chattering and he napped there.

'Captain Hitsugaya,' Jushiro motioned him inside, 'I just wanted to tell you that there's been more Hollows appearing in Karakura Town in the last few days. All of them have been disposed of by Kurosaki and his friends, but, when Kuchiki visited again yesterday, she reported that their power levels and abilities are more advanced,'

'Do you think it has something to do with that reiatsu?' Toshiro asked as they sat down.

Jushiro coughed slightly before continuing, 'I'm not sure, so I can't really help you more than that. However, I think that you should take your team to the World of the Living tomorrow,'

'Is there a particular reason apart from the increase in Hollows?'

The older man considered him carefully, 'Not really, but, if you ask me, I'd rather have some seated officers in the town just in case. I fear that, if the owner of that reiatsu appeared again, our forces wouldn't get there fast enough,'

'Thank you, Ukitake,' Toshiro stood, 'I'll inform the others,'

'Be careful, Shiro-chan!' Jushiro smiled at him as if he was a child and waved.

Scowling, Toshiro turned and walked away.

* * *

><p>After he'd alerted the others of the plan, Toshiro found himself walking through Junrinan again, just as twilight fell. Sighing, he dropped down from the top of the waterfall and waited. Sensing a slight presence behind him, despite his mind telling him that it was definitely Kurayami, he turned quickly anyway, drawing Hyorinmaru and swinging. The silver blade connected with the back of a moon pale hand.<p>

He re-sheathed the blade, 'Sorry,'

Her head was bent, watching the light cut fade from her skin.

'You have hierro?' Toshiro asked, referring to the hard skin of the arrancars, 'And high speed regeneration? Are you an arrancar?'

'When I said I was a Vasto Lorde, I did forget to say I was an arrancar,' she nodded, lowering her hand, 'And my hierro isn't very strong in comparison to the Espada you fought,'

He noticed that she didn't mention the regeneration, but didn't press the matter.

'I'm going to the World of the Living tomorrow with five other shinigami,' he paused, 'Since you came here from the Human World, then shouldn't you be able to get back?'

'Are you asking me to come to the Human World with your team?'

The white haired captain nodded, 'Yeah. But you'll probably still need to stay away from the others,'

Thinking about it, he reasoned that Kuchiki, Abarai and Renji might accept the shinigami/Vasto Lorde, but the other two would probably just want to fight. For the fun of it, of course.

Kurosaki and his friends would probably also have their own unique reactions, but he couldn't let Kurayami's existence jeopardise the mission.

When he looked back up, the girl was gone again and he left, wondering whether or not she'd come.

* * *

><p>The next morning was cold and windy and Toshiro had to threaten Rangiku just to get her out of bed. Ikkaku and Yumichika were already at the senkaimon along with Rukia, who looked mad, and Renji, who was sporting a black eye.<p>

'Let's go then,' Toshiro sighed as he stepped through the gate, imagining all of the tiring things that would happen once they emerged.

'Yep!' Matsumoto was as cheerful as ever, pink scarf fluttering in the wind.

'Too right!' Ikkaku laughed almost manically.

The others just walked in silently and the short captain was most glad.

* * *

><p>'Rukia!' Inoue Orihime's voice greeted the group as they stepped from the senkaimon and onto the damp grass, 'Rangiku!'<p>

Toshiro watched his Lieutenant rush forwards and gather Orihime into a bear hug. Turning his attention from them to the small group before them he sighed again.

'Back again Renji?' Kurosaki Ichigo mocked the lieutenant, 'You miss us that much?'

'Shut up,' Renji snapped, 'We're here on a mission this time,'

'Hey Renji,' Yasutora Sado – or Chad – spoke to the red head. The man being addressed grinned at him.

Ikkaku and Yumichika had already wandered off, presumably to wherever they usually stayed, and Toshiro could feel a twitch developing over his right eye. The noise that the remaining people were making was getting to him.

'Toshiro,' Ichigo began.

'That's Captain Hitsugaya to you!' Toshiro snapped at the orange haired boy.

'Whatever,' Ichigo's quick dismissal of his words made him flinch, 'So, what are you here for?'

'I assume that this has something to do with that reiatsu the other day,' the new voice was undoubtedly Ishida Uryu. Toshiro glanced at him as the Quincy pushed up his glasses.

'That's correct,' he answered the question before adding, 'But we're only here for security. That reiatsu hasn't been sensed again,'

Rukia looked troubled but, when Orihime called out to her, her face cleared and she smiled.

Renji muttered something about going to Urahara's and vanished along with Chad who wanted to train, then Ichigo said he was going home. Rukia told him that she'd be there later before wandering off to Orihime's apartment with Matsumoto and the other girl. Uryu stayed to ask another question – whether or not Kurotsuchi was involved with the investigation, to which Tosiro answered 'not yet' – then he too walked off.

Toshiro sighed deeply and was about to leave to walk as slowly as he could to Orihime's, when there as a cold rush of air behind him.

Turning, he watched a black senkaimon gate open and Kurayami stepped out, a blood red hell butterfly vanishing into the sky.

The captain stared at the strange gate as it closed and vanished.

'You decided to come,' he stated, flicking his gaze to the shinigami/Vasto Lorde arrancar.

'Hollows had been spotted near where I was staying so it was easier to come here rather than be found by shinigami there,' she glanced at the surrounding area, 'I feel reiatsu,'

Toshiro wondered what she was talking about but then she shook her head slightly and looked up from the ground, staring at the sky instead.

'Where are you going to stay?' Toshiro couldn't help but ask, knowing that things could get messy if one of the others, including Kurosaki's group, found her. Although she wasn't distinguishable as a Hollow, whoever came across the strangely dressed girl who carried a zanpakuto, they'd be bound to ask question.

As it was, he still didn't know why she'd told him as much as she had.

'Somewhere,' she didn't sound concerned, but then again, she never showed much emotion, turning, her short hair fluttered in the light breeze, and then she was gone.

Wondering just how she was able to use such seamless shunpo, and also how she managed to completely suppress her reiatsu, Toshiro began walking in the direction of Matumoto's reiatsu.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I suppose I should say that, since Kurosaki Ichigo has his shinigami powers in this story, it's slightly AU . . . but more on that later.


	5. Chapter 5: Tiring to No End

_Chapter 5: Tiring to No End_

'Inoue!' Kurosaki's voice came from behind the door to Orihime's apartment at around midday, startling the two women who were cooking, and annoying Toshiro, who was sleeping on the roof.

'Orihime! Open up!' Rukia joined in making a commotion, fully aware that, since she was in a gigai, she could be heard by anyone too.

Toshiro stood up, dusting down his grey pants, and straightening his black shirt, before jumping down onto the walkway where the two loud shinigami were standing.

'Toshiro!' the captain in question flinched at the informal greeting, but Ichigo continued as if nothing was wrong, 'I've already told you this, but most people around here think that white haired kids are weird delinquents,'

A steady twitch developed over Toshiro's eye.

'You should be careful!' the orange haired boy kept talking, seemingly oblivious to the death glares he was receiving.

It was only when Rukia punched him in the face that he stopped going on about 'acting normally so as not to draw attention to yourselves', and shut up.

At that moment, Rangiku slammed open the door, almost sending Rukia flying (the shinigami's quick reflexes got her out of harm's way), and stuffed a spoon into Ichigo's mouth. Orihime darted from behind her and clapped her hand over the startled boy's mouth and two fingers pinched his nose.

After a brief struggle, which Ichigo lost as Rukia's fists got involved, Toshiro, and everyone else, saw the boy swallow.

Rangiku and Orihime cheered and tried to hug Rukia, who, once again, dodged the attack.

Toshiro looked at Ichigo's white face and bulging eyes and actually felt sorry for the guy.

'Are you okay Ichigo?' Rangiku asked, peering at him closely.

'How was it, Kurosaki-kun?' Orihime, who always seemed to refer to Ichigo politely, added.

There was a silence, broken only by the substitute shinigami's ragged breathing, and then Ichigo barged through Orihime's door and raced to the bathroom.

No one wanted to know the details of what happened next, but, twenty minutes later, a haggard Kurosaki Ichigo stumbled out of the bathroom and collapsed, unconscious.

'What was it that you fed him?' Toshiro asked, not actually sure he wanted to know, as he watched Orihime rush forwards, calling on her powers, the ShunShun Rikka. Under the golden oval that was created, Ichigo slowly began to look better – better being before he ate . . . whatever he ate.

'It was porridge!' Toshiro waited, knowing that Matsumoto would continue after a moment, 'Chocolate, leek, miso, sweet bean, rice, soy sauce, tomato, cookies and cream ice cream, banana and white radish porridge. It's delicious, isn't it, Orihime?'

'That's right!' the girl's bright smile caused even Rukia to wince.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later Ichigo finished drinking his twentieth cup of water and turned to Orihime, 'We actually <em>did <em>come to talk to you,'

Rukia looked up from her book, 'And Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto,'

'What about?' Rangiku looked mildly interested as she ate a bowl of the 'porridge'.

'Rukia,' no one could work out if Ichigo was asking her to continue, or if he was saying that she was the topic of conversation.

'Huh?' Rangiku leaned towards him, 'That doesn't make any sense,'

Ichigo fell of his chair backwards and scrambled back along the ground as she closed in on him. Toshiro watched as Matsumoto laughed at Ichigo and wandered back to her seat, silently hoping the two visitors would get to their point.

'I felt like I knew that presence,' Kuchiki's voice was quiet, 'But the memory's muted so I can't tell you who it was. So,' she trailed off before continuing, her voice shaking slightly, 'Familiar,'

Toshiro knew that all of the Espada were dead and there were hardly any high level Hollow in Hueco Mundo, and decided that it was unlikely to be someone from the Soul Society, but he couldn't think of someone Kuchiki would know and almost be able to recognise.

'See Captain,' Rangiku's face inches from his made him jerk back into reality, 'I wasn't lying! You should trust me more,'

She retreated immediately when he glared at her darkly and let his reiatsu flare a bit.

'Yay!' the sudden shout surprised him and he stopped glaring.

Orihime was jumping up and down excitedly, 'Now we can make snow cones!'

Toshiro gritted his teeth at the girl's insuppressible optimism as she bent over and started scraping frost of a table.

'Now we can make raspberry jelly and mushroom ice!' Rangiku hurried to help her.

Rukia turned away as the two women raced off into the kitchen and tapped Ichigo's head, then, looking at Toshiro, she said, 'Would you mind coming back to Ichigo's house to talk, Captain Hitsugaya? I fear that they'll tie us down to chairs and force food, if it can be called that, into our mouths if we don't leave,'

Toshiro nodded and the three of them walked out of the apartment, calling quick goodbyes to the other two.

* * *

><p>'Familiar?' Toshiro asked, making another mental note to ask Rangiku if it was the same for her, 'How so?'<p>

'I'm sorry,' Rukia did indeed look quite depressed, 'I really don't know any more,'

'What's the big problem,' Ichigo demanded suddenly, 'Why is everyone getting so upset about a little reiatsu? I felt it but it was,' he paused, casting around for something to compare it to, 'Like Renji's!'

'You're terrible at sensing reiatsu,' Toshiro began before he was cut off, and not by Kurosaki.

'What!' Rukia leapt up, 'Don't insult Renji! He's my childhood friend, you know!'

She tackled a surprised Kurosaki to the ground and, hand closing around a permanent marker that just happened to be on the ground, began scribbling on his face. Ichigo shouted out and tried to escape by pushing Rukia away but she rammed her knee into his stomach and then, as he fell to the ground in agony, completed her drawing.

'My apologies, Captain Hitsugaya,' the black haired shinigami addressed the captain, noting his careful neutral expression, 'That idiot just,' she jabbed her hand into Ichigo's ribs discretely when he rose, 'Needed to be taught a lesson,'

'I see,' was all Toshiro managed to say, still recovering from the shock.

'Damn you Rukia!' a furious Ichigo straightened and glared at her ferociously, 'Just wait until I get my hands on yo-,'

Rukia punched his jaw, 'Keep your hands to yourself! You sound like Kon!'

Ichigo couldn't decide to go red with embarrassment or white with rage. In the end, he looked like a retarded clown with a wonky bunny-rabbit drawn on his face with black marker.

'Did you mention me, Nee-san?' with a blur of yellow, Kon the self-proclaimed, one and only mascot of Kuchiki Rukia (or any attractive female really), flew through the air, aiming for the shinigami's chest.

Sadly for him, he never made it there, as Rukia's foot, shoe and all, came down upon him with all the might her gigai could produce. Which, also unfortunately for Kon, was a lot.

'Ohh Nee-san,' Kon's teary cry sounded as Rukia continued mashing him into the floor, 'You're so kind, as usual,'

Toshiro's eye was twitching and he decided that, if he spent another _second _in the room with the three of them, he'd go made and start using Hyorinmaru to turn the whole house into a nice, cool, sparkly, refreshing – the list went on – ICE BOX!

All in all, the whole experience had been a waste of time.

'I'll see you tomorrow, Kurosaki, Kuchiki,' before anyone could protest, he jumped out the window and hurried away.

* * *

><p>'It looked,' a pleasantly calm voice spoke from the shadows under some overhanging trees, 'Pretty lively in there,'<p>

Toshiro stopped and turned, taking in the sight of the shinigami standing just off the path. Kurayami had, somehow, managed to get a gigai, so now she looked like a slightly-more-attractive-than-average teenager, the same age as Kurosaki and his (incredibly tiring) group.

She was wearing a relatively plain grey shirt, which would look suspiciously like it was made for street fighting if not for the red flower curling up from one corner, and black jeans. A dark red jacket was draped over one arm.

Toshiro sighed, rubbing his head, 'Sadly, you're quite right,'

She walked onto the path and then continued, Toshiro falling into step alongside her, 'The official resident shinigami here is useless,'

'Who? Kurumadani?' Toshiro bit back a chuckle, 'Kuchiki Rukia was shocked when she found out who replaced her,'

'Those Hollows,' she paused but didn't stop walking, 'They're coming through a Garganta that's been permanently opened a few kilometers north of Karakura,'

'Permanently opened?' Toshiro raised his eyebrows, eyes scanning the people who were passing by them as they entered a busier section of the town.

'It needs to be closed,' despite the fact that she hadn't acknowledged what he added to the mostly one sided conversation, Toshiro definitely thought she took note of his words.

'Do you know how?' and he also felt completely sure that she knew the exact way to accomplish something like that.

'Closing a Garganta like that would be as easy as opening one if you're a Vasto Lorde,' he glanced at her but she was as expressionless as usual, 'Even if it's been set up to be permanent,' she stopped at the end of a row of shops, where hardly any people were walking by, 'I could close it myself,' a pause, 'But that would mean releasing my reiatsu,'

'Can I help you?' for some reason he felt that she was being completely honest with him at the moment, and, although she showed no emotion, he felt that she wasn't exactly savouring the fact that she was a Hollow.

How she'd decided that she could trust him was beyond the young captain, but he was glad of it. After Kusaka in the Academy, he hadn't really made any friends – Hinamori Momo was more like his sister, and Matsumoto, well, she was Matsumoto – so the companionship, which wasn't loud or overly tiring, was welcome, even if he didn't really know his companion.

'Yes,' she looked north, eyes on the sky, 'I could use your reiatsu to seal the hole in the sky,'

He turned to face the direction she was looking, eyes determined, 'Where is this Garganta?'

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Someone's had a hard morning . . . poor Toshiro . . .  
>Maybe doing some work will keep him from going mad XD<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Garganta, Secret Revealed

_Chapter 6: Garganta, Secret Revealed_

The white haired captain had been expecting a large gateway, but the absolute expanse of shadowy darkness cutting open the blue sky shocked him. The Garganta stretched for about a hundred meters lengthwise, and then it was at least fifty meters high.

'_Closing a Garganta like that would be as easy as opening one if you're a Vasto Lorde,'_

He remembered her words. 'Like that' – did that mean she'd already come and seen it before contacting him? He definitely thought so.

_But still, for her to say that so easily, she must truly be powerful_, he thought, _I've fought a Vasto Lorde Espada before, _he remembered the power that Tier Harribel had possessed when she fought him back in the Winter War, _I wonder if she had that same ability._

'Just about all Hollows can open these,' Toshiro drew his attention back to the present when he heard her voice again.

'But now let's close it,' he said in way of reply. Something flickered through her eyes as she glanced at him but he didn't notice, his full attention taken up by the gaping black hole. He stepped out of his gigai and it ran off.

Kurayami held out her hand and, after a second, Toshiro took it.

Then they both turned their gazes to the Garganta.

* * *

><p>Toshiro felt his reiatsu flare and watched ice spread out from around them, stopping at the ring of trees that surrounded the clearing they were in.<p>

Glancing at Kurayami, he saw black seeping into the whites of her eyes and her irises go a deep red colour, different to the bright gold that Kurosaki's eyes turned when he hollowfied. Somehow, the hold she seemed to have over her reiatsu didn't falter but Toshiro felt his output increase again.

In a rapid movement that the captain found hard to follow, she drew her zanpakuto with her right hand and slashed the air vertically in front of them, before re-sheathing it in the same graceful movement.

There was a cracking sound and Toshiro felt his reiatsu being forced towards the Garganta. He felt Kurayami's hand tense slightly in his and focused on releasing as much spiritual pressure as he could.

With an ear-splitting ripping noise, the hole closed, crushing several Hollows who were just emerging.

Just before he fell unconscious, Toshiro silently thanked his acquaintance. Or was she his friend now?

* * *

><p>'Urgh,' sitting up too fast for his muddled mind to cope with, Toshiro found himself sitting right where he'd fallen, or been laid, he wasn't sure.<p>

'It's closed,' his eyes widened slightly when he heard Kurayami's voice. He'd have thought she would have left by now.

Turning, he saw that her gaze was on the sky. In the same moment, he realised two other things, one: his reiatsu was stable and the ice on the grass had vanished, and two: he was still holding Kurayami's hand.

Trying not to flush, he released his death grip and stood up, the girl beside him rising too.

_Perhaps there was a reason she didn't leave, _he thought wryly, flexing his stiff fingers, _Maybe she couldn't._

'Captain!' Matsumoto's voice made him freeze, 'Are you okay?'

Less than a second later, the Lieutenant of the Tenth Division appeared before him.

'I felt your reiatsu flare about ten minutes ago and I came as soon as I could,' Rangiku trailed off, suddenly realising that they weren't alone.

Toshiro wasn't sure what to do, but he found himself hoping Kurayami wasn't going to blame him for accidentally alerting his Lieutenant of her existence.

Rangiku's confusion passed quickly and she grinned at her captain. Wondering why, Toshiro realised too late just what kind of conclusion the infuriating woman had come to.

'My, my, Captain!' Matsumoto cooed, 'I thought you said you weren't interested in human girls?'

Toshiro couldn't speak, his indecision adding to his overall fury, but he felt his eye twitching again.

'Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku of the Tenth Division,' Kurayami's cool voice immediately blew away his anger and he blinked in surprise, thankful that Rangiku had turned away from him so she wouldn't see his nervousness.

'Wow! She can see me!' the bubbly Lieutenant laughed, 'And she knows who I am,' leaning closer to the aghast captain, she spoke conspiratorially, 'Have you been talking about me Captain?'

She got the full force of Toshiro's death glare and jumped backwards.

Turning her back to him, Matsumoto continued to address Kurayami, 'So, who are you? What's your name?'

'Kumori Kurayami,' Toshiro was surprised that she just gave the information.

'Matsumoto,' Rangiku flinched when she felt her captain's reiatsu flare behind her. Toshiro stepped forwards and, although it was a bit of a stretch, managed to grasp his Lieutenant's shihakusho somewhere around the shoulder.

'C-captain?' the woman decided she wasn't going to like what was coming.

'You are not to tell anyone about Kumori, understood?' his voice was like a million shards of ice.

'Huh? It's not that embarrassing,' she sounded genuinely confused.

'Captain Hitsugaya,' Kurayami's voice caused him to release Matsumoto and they both turned to face the girl, Rangiku wondering how she knew that Toshiro was a captain.

'I think maybe your Lieutenant would understand better if she knew more,' the cool, calm tone was immensely soothing to Toshiro's rage.

'Knew more?' Rangiku was now thoroughly confused.

'I'm a shinigami,' there was no expression on her face whatsoever, 'And a Vasto Lorde arrancar,'

* * *

><p>Rangiku reacted much like her captain had, staring and trying to understand what had just been said.<p>

'If you would place refrain from telling anyone else that I exist, then I would be most grateful,' Kurayami closed her eyes as she pulled on her coat.

'No reiatsu?' Matsumoto asked Toshiro the question.

'She constantly suppressed it so she doesn't draw the attention of people like you,' the short captain snapped.

'I won't tell anyone,' Rangiku promised solemnly, quite afraid for her safety if she didn't comply as there were two very powerful beings in the clearing with her.

Both Toshiro and Kurayami nodded at this.

Unable to resist asking one more question, Rangiku spoke again, 'What were you two doing here though?'

'Sealing off a giant, permanently opened Garganta,' the captain spoke nonchalantly, 'That's why you sensed my reiatsu,'

'I see,' Matsumoto suddenly put her fingers in her mouth and let out a loud whistle that had the others flinching.

Seconds later, Toshiro's timid gigai peeped out from behind one of the trees.

Matsumoto laughed, 'I got it modified to come when I whistle,'

Toshiro didn't speak, the horror at seeing 'himself' coming to Rangiku's whistle too much for him to cope with.

Sighing, he stepped back into the gigai and turned to Matsumoto, 'Let's go,'

'Huh?' she turned around to locate Kurayami, but the girl had already vanished, 'She's quick!'

'Matsumoto,' the weary voice of her captain made her jolt and she hurried after him, doing her best not to get on his bad side.

* * *

><p>Lying on the roof of Orihime's apartment, Toshiro ran the recent events through his mind again, still hardly believing it was all happening.<p>

The reiatsu bothered him just as much as everything else, and he wondered again who could possible own it.

Suddenly recalling his own mental note, he called for Matsumoto.

'Yes Captain?' she jumped onto the roof and waited as he sat up.

'That reiatsu,' he met her gaze levelly, 'Did you recognise it?'

She hesitated, 'It was gray, it felt gray,' she shivered, sitting down, 'It felt mocking. No, I didn't recognise it, not that way,'

Toshiro paused, committing her words to memory.

'So cold,' she moaned suddenly, seemingly lost in another world, forgetting where she was and who she was with, 'It's leaving. No,' anguish coloured her tone, 'Not again. This is not the same,'

'Matsumoto!' Toshiro called out to her, concerned despite himself. Blinking suddenly, she relaxed again, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened.

'Go to bed, Matsumoto,' Toshiro sighed, hiding his worry.

'Thank you, Captain,' she retreated and he was left alone, staring at the stars.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

So what's going on with Lieutenant Matsumoto . . . ?


	7. Chapter 7: Summoned Home

_Chapter 7: Summoned Home_

Inside a room in Inoue Orihime's apartment, seven astonished shinigami stared at a large screen lodged against the wall. Orihime herself wasn't sure what was going on so she just smiled.

'Why?' Rukia sounded confused, 'We only just got here,'

'I'm sorry,' Ukitake Jushiro spoke apologetically, 'I've got no choice but to ask you all to return,' he paused, 'Actually Kuchiki, I'm going to ask you to stay in the World of the Living until further notice,'

'Yes sir!' Kuchiki bowed.

Ikkaku was grumbling and finally his patience snapped, 'We got sent here because of some reiatsu, and now we're being called home? I didn't even get half a good fight!'

'Ikkaku,' Yumichika spoke patronisingly, 'Maybe you should ask why we're being sent back,'

Ukitake nodded at him appreciatively, 'Two adjuchas class menos grande broke into the Soul Society this morning, and multiple lesser Hollows too. Seven gillians were also reported to have arrived in West Rukongai,'

Everyone was frozen with shock.

'Nine menos grande?' Toshiro's calm tone was forced.

'That's right,' Jushiro felt terrible bringing them the news, 'Since that reiatsu hasn't been sensed again, we thought it would be better to bring you lot back to help deal with the threat here. We'll expect you back tomorrow night,'

'I see,' Toshiro's frown deepened, 'We'll be back by then,'

'I'm really sorry,' the older white haired captain frowned, 'There's nothing I can do,'

'Don't worry about it,' Matsumoto said with only half of her usual cheer, 'We're all just doing our best,'

Jushiro smiled and then turned away as the connection was ended.

* * *

><p>'I can't believe it,' Rukia breathed, 'It's unusual, to say the least,'<p>

'The threat must be bad then,' Ikkaku began walking out of the room, he and Yumichika paused by the door, 'Where's the Senkaimon going to open?'

'Where we arrived,' Toshiro replied.

Once they'd left, he turned to Rukia, 'Kuchiki, you've got your orders, make sure you alert the Soul Society if anything happens,'

'Yes sir,' Rukia nodded and turned to leave as well.

Ichigo was about to speak when a massive amount of group reiatsu filled the air.

Everyone's eyes widened and they glanced at each other for a second before running out of the apartment, jumping onto the roof.

Four small Gargantas were open in the sky and hundreds of Hollows were pouring out.

'Let's go!' Ichigo shouted, sensing that Uryu and Chad were also hurrying towards them.

They all nodded and leapt into the sky, unsheathing their zanpakuto.

* * *

><p>Ichigo took out five with his first swing and Renji's Zabimaru seemed perfect for slicing down multitudes of Hollow. Rukia worked hard near Kurosaki, guarding his back, and, further over, Ikkaku and Yumichika released their shikais and began slashing away in earnest.<p>

Matsumoto glanced at her captain to get approval to release her Heineko as well and he nodded. She immediately moved into the fight, almost a different person to her usual, annoying self.

A burst of energy blasted a path through the Hollows and everyone sensed Chad's arrival. Then a rain of blue arrows shot from the ground.

'Uryu!' Ichigo shouted, 'Protect Inoue!'

The Quincy nodded and used Hirenkyaku to take himself to Orihime quickly. The orange haired girl stood behind her Santen Kesshun shield and watched everyone worriedly. The Gargantas weren't closing and the number of Hollows was only increasing.

Toshiro gritted his teeth as he slashed through Hollow after Hollow, wondering if he could close the Gargantas without Kurayami's help.

It was a hopeless situation.

A sudden volley of bangs and a loud shout made everyone glance down at the ground. Toshiro wasn't exactly surprised to see Urahara Kisuke, Shihoin Yoruichi, Tsumugiya Ururu and Hanakari Jinta, but he was slightly glad.

'Yoohoo!' Urahara waved his fan, 'Thought you could use a little help,'

The red headed boy Jinta swung his weapon around wildly while the shy Ururu kept shooting the canon that rested on her shoulder.

Yoruichi grinned widely before activating her shunko and leaping into the fray.

In the chaos, Toshiro made his way to the nearest Garganta. He wasn't surprised to see Urahara already there.

'Help me out will you?' the shopkeeper spoke charmingly but only earned himself a scowl, 'My, my!'

Turning away from the captain, he placed the end of his walking stick at one end of the hole, 'Awaken, Benihime,' His zanpakuto released.

Getting the unspoken message that he should release his zanpakuto too, Toshiro mimicked Urahara's movement, resting the tip of the blade on his end of the Garganta, and then spoke, 'Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru,'

'Now, when I say 'go', release your reiatsu along your zanpakuto,' Urahara glanced at him, 'Go,'

Despite the incredibly short notice, Toshiro let his reiatsu flare at exactly the right moment and channeled it along Hyorinmaru.

There was a ripping sound and the Garganta slowly began to close then, when it was halfway sealed, Urahara tossed a small object through it and it snapped shut immediately.

To the captain's surprise, the other Gargantas closed too and then it was simply a matter of finishing off the remaining Hollows.

* * *

><p>Once the whole episode was over and Orihime was down below healing anyone with the slightest injury, Toshiro used his shunpo to take himself to the grassed area that they'd arrived in.<p>

Looking at the field, he remembered that this was where the first Espada had appeared and fought with Kurosaki.

'It was a warning,' as usual, Kurayami appeared without a greeting and immediately began saying exactly what she came to say.

'A warning?' he turned around and watched her as she passed him to kneel at the edge of the still present crater in the centre of the area.

'Whoever is responsible for the attack today, is probably responsible for the attack on the Soul Society,' her fingers trailed in the dust, 'A warning that if Karakura Town is left unattended, there will be a consequence,'

Toshiro's eyes widened despite the fact that he too had suspected as such, 'You think so?'

'This reiatsu,' she picked up some dust before letting it slip through her fingers, 'It belonged to Ulquiorra,' she paused, 'Yammy was here too,'  
>A ghost of a frown passed briefly over her face.<p>

He was unconcerned with her random change of subject, 'I'm leaving for the Soul Society tonight,' he'd made up his mind, 'I want to speak to Ukitake in person,'

When he opened his eyes again, she was standing directly in front of him, a small packet in her hand, 'Amanattō,'

'Eh?' he blinked as he took the packet, 'Thank you,'

Before he could say anything else, she used her rapid shunpo to vanish. He realised suddenly what she meant by giving him the confectionary – it was kind of like her way of saying 'I'll see you again' – and that she wouldn't be returning to the Soul Society today. In that same thought, he decided that it was a good thing, especially if she was correct in her theory about the attacks. And anyway, despite telling himself that it didn't matter, he also knew that he'd be back in a week in there weren't any more odd Hollow attacks, to collect his team (he planned to talk Ukitake into letting them stay a little longer), minus Kuchiki Rukia.

Knowing that nobody was around to see, Toshiro smiled as he walked back to Orihime's, midday sunlight highlighting his white hair.

* * *

><p>'Toshiro!' Ichigo's informal greeting still made Toshiro twitch, despite his relatively good mood, 'Where did you go? Inoue's been looking for you!'<p>

He glared at the orange haired teenager, snapping, 'I've only been away for fifteen minutes!'

'Just come on, they want to talk,' Ichigo gestured to the group of shinigami sitting on the roof, 'Everyone's here except Urahara's lot but we're supposed to go to Urahara Shoten before you leave,'

Toshiro ignored him as he jumped onto the roof.

'Captain Hitsugaya, are you hurt?' Orihime leapt up, one hand resting near her left hairpin.

'Not at all,' he replied before sitting down opposite Matsumoto, he met her gaze, 'I'm going back to the Soul Society tonight,' he raised his hand before anyone could interrupt, 'All of you should stay here,'

'I'm not,' Ikkaku said with an air of finality.

'Me neither,' Yumichika spoke, as usual, with all of his eloquence.

'Fine,' everyone was surprised how easily the captain gave in, but no one spoke.

'Matsumoto, Abarai,' they looked up, 'I'm going to talk to Ukitake and hopefully he'll let you stay here a bit longer,'

'When are you leaving?' Ichigo frowned at Toshiro, 'Don't forget you've got to go visit Urahara,'

'Then let's go now,' Rukia took command, sensing the captain was in deep thought, 'Hurry up!'

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

That must have been a lot of Hollows :D


	8. Chapter 8: Urahara Kisuke

_Chapter 8: Urahara Kisuke_

'Why hello!' Urahara was putting on his 'I'm just a humble merchant' act, 'What brings you to my _humble _store?'

The seven visitors all surveyed the former captain of the Twelfth Division and Founder of the Department of Research and Development, now turned shopkeeper, with different expressions.

Urahara turned to Ichigo, who seemed to be trying to walk away unnoticed, 'Kurosaki!'

Ichigo froze and turned around slowly, walking back to the group with a dark but terrified expression on his face.

'What do we say? Hmm?' in the shadow of his hat, everyone could've sword that Urahara's eyes twinkled evilly.

Ichigo glared at the curious onlookers, a group which didn't include Rukia as she already knew what was about to happen, and scowled.

Turning back to the shopkeeper, who was hiding a smirk behind his fan, he sucked in a deep breath, 'All hail the mighty Urahara! Bow before his greatness and kiss his sandaled feet! Hooray for the King of Justice! Hooray for his great wisdom and kindness! Be glad that he blessed your humble, worthless soul with the time of day! Three cheers for this brilliance! Hooray! Hooray! Hooooraaaaaay!'

Toshiro watched the whole spectacle with an absolutely deadpan expression. Here was Kurosaki Ichigo, the substitute shinigami who was vital in defeating Aizen, kneeling before Urahara Kisuke, the shinigami who sealed Aizen, and kissing his feet. Then he stood up again and waved his arms around wildly until the three cheers, where he just stood and practically shouted them in Urahara's face with all his might.

As Kurosaki collapsed from lack of oxygen, and Rukia and Orihime hurried over, the white haired captain turned to look at the four other stunned shinigami and asked, 'Did that really just happen?'

All he received in reply was three dumbfounded stares.

* * *

><p>Once the initial shock had worn off, Rangiku and Ikkaku were doubled over laughing, and Yumichika was smothering a mocking smile.<p>

Kneeling beside Rukia, Orihime began healing Ichigo – probably from mental trauma more than anything else – then she said, 'That was so exciting! I never knew Kurosaki-kun could be so animated! I should ask him to do that for me again sometime,'

Her happy chatter only just managed to break through the stunned wall that had grown up around Toshiro's mind and he blinked.

'Don't. You. Dare. Inoue,' Ichigo's eyes flew open inside the girl's rejection sphere.

Orihime just giggled and Rukia sighed.

'Kurosaki,' Urahara's ominous voice made everyone go silent with anticipation, then he smiled widely and switched to his innocent and happy character, 'Good job!'

The orange haired shinigami groaned and sat up, the gold sphere vanishing from around him, 'Shut up,'

The last comment was directed at Rangiku and Ikkaku who were still chuckling.

'Now,' Urahara gestured for them to enter his store, 'Let's get down to business,'

Rangiku spoke suddenly, barely suppressing the mocking tone in her voice, 'So Kurosaki, what's that all about?'

Ichigo worked hard not to blush from embarrassment and succeeded.

However it was Rukia who answered, speaking as she sat down at Urahara's table, 'Since Urahara stabilised his reiatsu, which, along with some other invention, prevented the loss of his shinigami powers, Ichigo has to do that whenever he comes to Urahara Shoten and meets Urahara here,' her voice was level but Toshiro noticed a sparkle of amusement in her blue purple eyes.

'I see,' Ikkaku spoke at the same time as Rangiku and she smacked his head because of it.

Calming himself, Toshiro spoke, 'What did you want to meet with us about?'

Urahara looked at everyone over his fan, 'Well, apart from the fact that I wanted to embarrass Kurosaki in front of everyone,' Rukia only just managed to prevent Ichigo from leaping up and lunging at the shopkeeper, 'I wanted to talk to everyone about that reiatsu,'

'Yes?' everyone was instantly interested.

'It's twice as strong as a captains' and as thick as an Espadas',' there was no humour in the man's tone now, 'Yoruichi left for the Soul Society after the fight this morning to see what other information they had as well as to help out with the battle there,'

'We're going back today too,' Yumichika gestured to the Tenth Division captain and Ikkaku, 'But they're staying here,'

Urahara nodded as if he'd been going to suggest the same thing, 'That's a good plan,'

Toshiro felt like the man wasn't saying something, 'Is that all you wanted to say?'

The calculating look in the older man's shaded eyes was unmistakable, 'Apart from that strange reiatsu, I sensed another presence arrive in Karakura Town recently. I'm investigating that case now since the reiatsu one isn't going anywhere,'

The white haired captain masked his urge to freeze by picking up the tea in front of him, glad that Urahara was talking to Rukia.

_He knows about Kuromi? _the thought thundered in his mind, _Without even sensing any reiatsu. That man really is something._

'My humblest apologies for dragging you all here just for that,' the grinning shopkeeper didn't sound sorry at all, 'That's all I needed to say!'

Matsumoto and Orihime went to go shopping, Rukia left with Ichigo, saying something about 'Kurosaki Family Time', and Renji walked deeper into the shop.

'Should we depart for the Soul Society?' Yumichika asked the perturbed captain.

'Yes,' even as he turned away, Toshiro thought he sensed Urahara glance at him as he shut the door to the shop. Leaving now seemed like a bad thing to do but his first duty had to be to the Soul Society, no matter what.

Silently hoping Urahara wouldn't discover Kuromi while he was away, he followed the other two back to the field where a Senkaimon began to open.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

So what's Urahara up to? Does he know?


	9. Chapter 9: Meeting With Past Memories

_Chapter 9: Meeting With Past Memories_

'Is that so?' Ukitake listened to the young captain's theory and found that he agreed entirely, 'I'll speak to the Head Captain about letting Matsumoto and Abarai stay there,' he paused, 'Where are the two Eleventh Division members?'

Toshiro suppressed the urge to twitch in annoyance, 'They're probably in the Rukongai now helping in the effort against the Hollows,'

'I see,' the man frowned, 'I spoke to Yoruichi earlier on and she gave me the news on the reiatsu. What do you think?'

'Well, it sounds like a powerful arrancar or Espada, but we have no real evidence,' the slightly warm tea was the only thing stopping him from losing control from pure frustration. And it was true, all they knew was what it felt like, and no one had any way of tracking it either.

'I know how you feel,' the other captain sipped his own tea, 'I hope I made the right decision letting Kuchiki stay there,'

Toshiro could only nod and, once he'd finished off his tea, he excused himself.

'Hitsugaya,' the young captain turned back questioningly, Ukitake's expression was concerned, 'Is something bothering you?'

_Bothering him? This whole reiatsu thing was bothering him. Matsumoto was bothering him even if she wasn't in the same world as him, _the thoughts flew through his head.

When Jushiro took in the captain's blank expression, he sighed, realising that he might've asked a bit too soon. For some reason, the captain of the Thirteenth Division was sure that something _was _bothering Toshiro, but that the young captain hadn't yet realised it consciously himself.

'Don't worry,' he called out to the still waiting shinigami, 'It's nothing,'

Privately, the wished Toshiro well with whatever the matter was and stood up carefully to call his Third Seats.

* * *

><p>Toshiro knew that his week would be taken up forestalling the return of his Lieutenant and the Lieutenant of the Sixth Division, and doing paperwork. Knowing what you have to do, and knowing how you can actually do it, turned out to be two different things.<p>

As he finished off the last document and begun walking out the door, he sensed Byakuya appear behind him.

'Kuchiki,' turning, he surveyed the man's expressionless face, thinking that too many people, although it was actually only two, were sneaking up behind him lately.

There was a strange hesitation before the captain spoke, 'How is Kuchiki Rukia?'

Toshiro nodded, 'She's fine, but, by orders of her captain, she will be stationed in the World of the Living for a while longer,'

'I see,' turning quickly in a motion that sent the ends of his scarf flying, Byakuya walked off.

Toshiro might have been vexed by the man's abrupt behaviour, but he understood what it felt like to be worried for a family member.

As he stepped out of the shade of the building, the heat of the summer sun beat down upon him and he scowled. Remembering cool days of spring did little to ease his discomfort as he walked through the Seireitei.

'Toshiro!'

The young captain froze, and it wasn't because the speaker had discarded his formal title. Turning slowly, his shocked eyes fell upon Hinamori Momo.

'Hinamori?' he sounded like he usually did, but he felt far from it. The girl was standing in the shade of one of the Fourth Division barracks leaning up against a wall.

The last time he'd seen her, she'd been pale and sickly, lying in one of the beds in the General Emergency Relief Station, trying to recover from a wound _he'd _dealt to her. Toshiro was still furious that Aizen had tricked him into stabbing Hinamori and he'd always disliked visiting her.

Now, however, her skin had a healthy glow and there weren't any dark lines under her eyes. Her zanpakuto was at her waist, her Lieutenant's badge was on her arm and her shihakusho was spotless.

Her laugh made him focus again, 'Shiro-chan, you look like you've seen a ghost!'

'Don't call me Shiro-chan! It's Captain Hitsugaya!' he complained as he walked over to her.

Seeing his still concerned gaze, Momo added, 'I'm perfectly fine now! Captain Unohana is a marvelous healer! I hardly even have a scar,' when she say Toshiro wince, she continued quickly, 'And now I'm allowed out to work again!' she paused, 'I wonder how hard it's going to be to manage a captain's work too,'

'If you need help, just ask,' Toshiro was glad that she hadn't mentioned Aizen. Maybe so much time in an almost sleep had given her the chance to sort out her feelings.

'I heard from Lieutenant Kotetsu that you've been doing most of the Fifth Division's paperwork,' her bright smile was something he'd missed in the months she'd been healing, 'Thank you!'

He sighed, and she blinked in surprise, 'You spent all that time sleeping and you haven't grown a bit. Matsumoto's going to love teasing you,'

'Matsumoto?' she sounded angry, 'Oh no! That woman has no right! She's a freak of nature!' she rounded on him, 'And you can't say that to me! You're still way shorter!'

'I never said I got any taller!' he snapped back.

As she continued ranting about Matsumoto, Toshiro was so glad that his childhood friend had finally returned.

'Hinamori?' his more serious tone caused her to stop going on about his Lieutenant and look at him, 'Have you heard about the reiatsu that appeared in the World of the Living?'

'I heard a bit,' she nodded, 'No one knows who owns it and its powerful,'

'And the Hollow attacks?'

The expression on her face darkened and she looked like a true Lieutenant, 'I wanted to go and help but Captain Unohana says all the work I'm allowed to do for a while longer is paperwork,'

Toshiro couldn't help his expression lightening slightly, 'What are you doing now then?'

'Nothing,' she gave a sigh of long suffering, 'I should be at the office doing reports though,'

'Come with me then,' Toshiro began walking away, 'I've got some jobs to do,'

* * *

><p>Sitting on the roof of his office as the temperature lessened slightly, Toshiro looked at the sky above the Sogyoku Hill, remembering how Aizen had escaped that way so long ago. It seemed like another lifetime, but the scars were still present.<p>

Hinamori had had to return for her daily checkup in the afternoon, so he'd finished his business with Kira Izuru from the Third Division and then returned to his office.

Unable to concentrate on a single report, he'd left the stifling room and jumped onto the roof, waiting in anticipation for the night to bring some cool relief.

He thought about Matsumoto suddenly, remembering her strange behaviour a couple of nights ago, and sighed.

From what he'd read in the library today, someone who had encountered a reiatsu before could have a strange reaction after encountering it again. However, that still didn't make finding out the identity of the whatever-it-was any easier.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Toshiro instead recalled how Hinamori had reacted when he had told her about Kurosaki's performance earlier in the day.

_Earlier in the day? _he thought suddenly, then he sighed, rubbing his head, _Today has really been busy._

Sitting up, he pondered going to the Thirteenth Division again, but then he remembered how sick Ukitake had looked and decided against it. Instead, he just waited and remembered, too many thoughts clouding his mind.

* * *

><p>In the World of the Living, Matsumoto stood on the roof of Orihime's apartment, gazing at the stars. She remembered Kurosaki's embarrassment with a small smile, and then, with an even larger smile, she remembered what she and Orihime had made for dinner.<p>

Suddenly, all humour left her and her eyes widened, the memory of the cold reiatsu, so different from her captain's, crashed down upon her.

_I'm scared, _a voice, her's, but when she was much younger, _I'm scared. It's cold._

An image of snow flashed through her mind and then her eyes and thoughts cleared and she shook her head, silently reprimanding herself for having nightmares when she was awake.

Orihime called her from below and she jumped down, entering the apartment with a smile. Like nothing ever happened.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

That was a very long day, I wonder if all of that could actually be achieved?

By the way, things might move quicker from now on . . . maybe . . . but updating might also be slower.


	10. Chapter 10: Blood Stains

_Chapter 10: Blood Stains_

'Renji!' Kuchiki Rukia was yelling at her childhood friend, asleep on Urahara's roof.

'What!' the red head sat up and almost slipped off the edge, grasping ahold of some tiles seconds before he would've fallen.

Rukia glared at him from below, 'If Kira Izuru were here, I'd say it'd be like déjà vu,' she snapped, referring to when Renji had slept in a tree on the night before their first day at the Shino Academy. She'd found him just as he fell out of the tree and onto the gravestone of Izuru's parents, startling the young man praying there.

'Shut up,' he grumbled as he jumped down, then, glaring at her, 'What do you want?'

She sighed, raising her phone, 'Captain Ukitake called. He said you and Matsumoto need to return to the Soul Society immediately,' when Renji just stared at her, her anger returned and she began shouting again, 'Immediately! Go and find Matsumoto and go! Hurry!'

The petite shinigami was concerned that Ukitake would think she hadn't passed on the message fast enough if she didn't get them going.

'Okay!' Renji removed his gigai, leaving it inside the store, and then locked up with the spare keys he had, before placing them in the 'secret spot'. Urahara and his loyal followers were out – buying juice.

'Let's go,' Rukia, who wasn't in a gigai, grabbed ahold of Renji's shihakusho and dragged him away.

* * *

><p>'Lieutenant Matsumoto!' Renji cringed at his friend's loud shout. She really did have volume, no matter how small she appeared.<p>

'Yes?' Rangiku popped her head out the door, glancing at the pair.

'You and Renji have to get back to the Soul Society,' Rukia had apparently forgotten that she was speaking to her superiors, 'Now!'

'What? It's only been a week since the Captain left, I still wanted to do more shopp-,' the death glare that the older women received was powerful enough to have her immediately remove her gigai and call her goodbye to Orihime.

The apartment's owner appeared at the door as they took a few steps away, 'Bye Rangiku! Goodbye Renji,' then she looked at the frustrated Rukia, 'See you at school Rukia,'

'School?' Rukia had completely forgotten that the holidays were up and she'd be going back to Karakura High School with Ichigo in a day or two.

'Yep!' Orihime waved the mixing spoon at them and then shut the door.

The other three wasted no time in using shunpo to get to the field.

* * *

><p>Toshiro waited as patiently as possible in the area he'd been told the Senkaimon would open in. Along with Ukitake, he'd managed to talk the other captains into letting the two Lieutenants stay in the World of the Living for a week, but, since nothing else had happened, they were being recalled by order of Head Captain Yamamoto.<p>

There was a slight swishing sound and he turned to watch the gate open. Two hell butterflies flew out and then the two shinigami appeared.

'Captain!' Matsumoto was strangely serious, 'Why have we been called back?'

The white haired captain looked at her, 'Since the reiatsu didn't show up again, you were recalled. I've got orders to send you immediately to south Rukongai to fight the adjuchas there,'

'There was two right?' Renji was already facing south, 'Haven't they been defeated yet?'

'There's still two. They're weak but it's taking a lot to bring them down,' Toshiro nodded, 'Now go!'

The two standing before him nodded and used shunpo to vanish. Frown deeper than usual, Toshiro tried to work out why something felt _wrong_.

About fifteen minutes later, a messenger butterfly flew over to him.

Turquoise eyes widened and he turned to stare in the direction the Lieutenants had gone.

_Matsumoto! _

* * *

><p>Perched high in the treetops, Rangiku scanned the destruction below her, glancing across at Renji. The red headed Lieutenant looked at her and nodded once. Then the pair leapt from the trees and onto the ground, away from the destroyed buildings.<p>

Then she let her reiatsu flare slightly, hoping to draw the adjuchas out into the open rather than fight them in a more dangerous location. Renji stood at her black, zanpakuto released and waiting.

There was a harsh roar to their right suddenly, and Renji extended Zabimaru just in time to prevent them from being hit – the first adjuchas had arrived.

It was slightly feline in appearance with grey and dark green markings over its white hide. Three long razor sharp claws adorned each of its front paws and a short, whip like tail flicked behind it.

With a yell, Renji swung his zanpakuto towards it. There was a pause, and then the Hollow jumped the blade, lunging for the wielder. Apparently the Lieutenant was ready for something like that, as he pulled up sharply, slashing Zabimaru's points into the exposed stomach.

The adjuchas snarled and rolled away, eyes glittering with hatred, 'You cannot beat me shinigami!' its voice was gravelly, 'A Captain would have trouble beating an adjuchas,'

Renji smirked, 'Is that so, then why are you bleeding?'

The creature was undeterred, 'I could bleed a whole lot more before being defeated by the likes of you!'

Rangiku was about to add her bit when she sensed another presence coming up behind her.

'Growl, Heineko!' the ash flew behind her to block the deadly punch from the second adjuchas.

Turning, she surveyed the strange looking Hollow, letting Heineko's ash drift around her, 'Who are you?'

The adjuchas, it looked like a slug with overgrown arms, grunted.

'Huh?' she mocked it, 'Cat got your tongue?'

A spark of annoyance glimmered in the black eyes. Rangiku knew that the adjuchas were quite intelligent, so working out that her zanpakuto's name meant 'Ash Cat', wouldn't be too hard.

Without another word, the now serious woman directed the ash towards her opponent.

* * *

><p>Toshiro was moving as fast as he could. There was no way that the Lieutenants had received the new report on the adjuchas. The only good thing he could think of right at that moment was that the gillians had been defeated – after all, those Eleventh Division members were a force to be reckoned with – but that didn't ease his concern much at all.<p>

_Don't do anything rash, _he hoped silently, _Don't let your guard down for a second._

* * *

><p>'Matsumoto,' Renji's tone was casual, even as he swung his zanpakuto around with deadly accuracy, 'You hurt yet?'<p>

'Don't insult me,' she laughed lightly as the adjuchas before her covered its bulbous eyes, shielding them from the onslaught of ash, 'What about you?'

Renji was about to reply with a negative, when the furious cat-Hollow in front of him locked one of Zabimaru's points between its claws and pulled. The startled Lieutenant only just managed to avoid having his head chopped off by dropping heavily to the ground. When he rose and returned Zabimaru to its usual state, a few drops of blood slid from a light cut on his cheek.

'What were you saying shinigami?' both adjuchas laughed.

Renji wiped his face with his sleeve and grinned at the smaller Hollow, 'I was just about to say that you're dead!'

With a wild laugh, he jumped towards the startled creature, the blades of his zanpakuto digging into the Hollow's side.

Matsumoto couldn't help but sigh as she sent more ash to bombard the slug thing's face.

'Don't underestimate me!' suddenly a huge fist was flying towards her. She used shunpo to dodge and then, taking advantage of the unprotected face, directed Heineko there.

To her surprise, although the ash spun around its head, the adjuchas did nothing to try and stop it. When she pulled back her zanpakuto, the Hollow's face was bleeding and torn but it was smiling crookedly.

'This is the end, shinigami,'

The cat like Hollow leapt towards Renji as the other swung at Matsumoto.

* * *

><p>Zabimaru entangled the first adjuchas, and Heineko stopped the blow of the second, but it didn't seem to dampen their opponents' dark triumph.<p>

It was only when the Lieutenants happened to notice something silver arcing towards them, that they realised their mistake.

While they'd been fighting, their confidence had made them focus only on their direct opponents. Consequently, the approach of three more adjuchas class Hollows went completely unnoticed to them.

Rangiku's mouth opened in a silent cry of shock, and Renji's eyes widened impossibly.

* * *

><p>A blur of black, white and green shot through their sight and suddenly Captain Hitsugaya was standing at Matsumoto's side, Hyorinmaru blocking the killing strike.<p>

'Captain!' the relief in his Lieutenant's voice was honest.

'You shouldn't have let your guard down!' Toshiro snapped at her, hiding his former concern perfectly, 'Concentrate!'

'Yes sir!' both Lieutenants were embarrassed, but now they were doubly determined to win.

'There are five adjuchas all together,' the white haired captain disengaged his zanpakuto and the Hollow retreated slightly, 'I called for reinforcements and a squad from the Fourth Division,'

No one spoke again, but all of them moved slightly closer together, eyes watching the circling Hollows warily.

In unison, both sides attacked.

Then, a few minutes later, Renji released his bankai and began to use it to both attack the enemy, and defend his comrades.

Slash after slash. Shout after shout. Blood flew into the air on frequent occasions.

The shinigami were tiring, but the adjuchas seemed to remain as strong as they'd started. Toshiro couldn't work out what was taking help so long to arrive.

* * *

><p>There was a pained curse, and Toshiro turned in time to see Renji fly through the air, two long, deep gashes up his front, and then slam into a tree with a sickening crack. His bankai vanished and Toshiro's eyes widened, knowing that that was a definite indication of the seriousness of the Lieutenant's injuries.<p>

He was turning to shout at Matsumoto, 'Protect Abarai!'

She turned her head to nod at him and then her eyes darkened with pain as she was impaled by one of the nearest adjuchas' horns. The bull like Hollow tossed her over to land beside Renji, her head hitting the ground with a sickening crack, and then advanced on Toshiro.

He was furious, his reiatsu flaring wildly, and he raised Hyorinmaru, releasing it. Swinging the long blade, the ice dragon formed from the tip and shot towards one of the adjuchas, freezing and killing it instantly. The others were taken aback by such a quick defeat and Toshiro knew that their guard was up now.

'I'll kill you!' he shouted, fury making his voice shake slightly.

He charged at the bull Hollow, moving so fast that it didn't even notice when it was stabbed and subsequently frozen.

Turquoise eyes wide, he slashed at the slug adjuchas, almost cleaving it in too. Something in his mind, the only reasonable part left, said that these weren't strong adjuchas at all, and reasoned that they must only have recently risen from the rank of gillian.

A huge fist aimed for his head, but the captain effortlessly chopped the hand off, jumping to finish the adjuchas off.

Dropping back to the ground, he glared at the two remaining ones – the two cat-like adjuchas.

'That's quite impressive,' Renji's initial opponent spoke, 'But we've been at this level for thousands of years, you have no hope of defeating us,'

The words hardly filtered through into Toshiro's mind, his thoughts so clouded with rage. Blind fury. It had almost killed him twice before, but he couldn't remember that at the moment.

The two adjuchas split up and leapt at the captain from both sides, but he jumped out of the way.

'Maybe there's a better way to win this,' leaping over to stand near the unconscious forms of the Lieutenants, the Hollow smirked, 'Watch them die, shinigami,'

Toshiro looked up and his was about to leap forwards when three claws penetrated his stomach, driving up through his body to emerge from his upper back. His eyes widened in agony as he slid down to rest limply against the blood stained paw.

'No,' the word came out wetly and with little breath behind it.

The adjuchas' laughter filled his roaring ears as he was tossed aside, landing some metres from the Lieutenants.

_No, _he repeated the thought in his head, unable to speak.

Just before Toshiro's mind slid into blackness, despite the fact that it was summer, he felt a cool wintry breeze ruffle his hair.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I feel sorry for them . . . I truly do


	11. Chapter 11: Visitors

_Chapter 11: Visitors_

'Captain Hitsugaya?' a warm, comforting voice called out to him, and he sought to be released from the smothering black.

Toshiro's eyes opened and he found Captain Unohana peering down at him, a kind smile on her face.

'It's good to see you again,' as she spoke, he turned his head with an effort, and looked to his left. Matsumoto was laid out on another pristine bed and, next to her, was Abarai.

'Don't worry,' he turned back to Unohana, 'They're both in a stable condition and they should be up and about in a few more days,'

'More days?' his voice cracked and his throat burned.

'You've been unconscious for a while,' her tone was slightly pitying, 'It's been three days since you fought those adjuchas,'

_Three days? _his mind had trouble processing what she'd said.

As the captain accepted a glass of water, Unohana spoke again, now sounding slightly relieved, 'When Captain Kuchiki arrived with a small group of shinigami and one of the relief squads, your injuries were completely healed. The only way that we knew you'd even been hurt were the holes in your shihakusho,'

_Completely healed? What? _turquoise eyes closed slightly.

'It was quite astonishing as, if the wounds were as severe as I think they were, whoever healed you did it in a remarkably short amount of time, and also with such skill that you don't even have any scars,' Unohana continued as she moved over to Rangiku's bed.

'How are they?' Toshiro chose not to try and work out what had happened to him yet as his head was still a bit cloudy.

'When we found them, they weren't in any danger of losing their lives. Lieutenant Matsumoto shouldn't have any scars when I'm finished,' a healing kido light appeared around the woman's hand, 'But Lieutenant Abarai will probably have a thin mark on his chest as the wound was deeper there,'

Toshiro remained silent and just lay there.

'Captain Hitsugaya?' Unohana glanced over her shoulder at him, 'Don't even think about leaving until tomorrow,'

Her sweet smile did nothing to stop him flinching.

* * *

><p>Once Unohana had left, Toshiro pulled himself into a sitting position and sighed. The captain was, after sorting out his mind, now almost certain about the identity of their rescuer. He remembered feeling a cold rush of air when Kurayami had arrived in the World of the Living, so he could only assume it would be the same if she came to the Soul Society.<p>

Despite being grateful, Toshiro couldn't help but wish she'd healed one of the Lieutenants instead of him.

He was shaken from his thoughts when a white haired head poked around the doorway.

'Ukitake?' Toshiro was wishing very hard that he was wrong, 'Is that you?'

'Shiro-chan!' the older captain leapt through the doorway and the shinigami sitting in the medical bed almost had a heart attack when he saw what his guest was carrying.

'Don't you even think about it!' he tried to escape but someone had done a very good of pulling the sheets tight over his legs.

'Here you go Shiro-chan!' Jushiro practically threw a huge stuffed toy of some sort at the recovering captain.

'Don't call me Shiro-chan!' Toshiro threw the toy back and it hit the older man's grinning face.

Not to be stopped at any cost, the suddenly very child-like captain lobbed the toy back.

'Aren't you supposed to be in bed?' turquoise eyes showed a hint of panic as he returned the toy, looking for an excuse to get rid of his guest.

'You're right! It's normally me in your position,'

'That wasn't what I said!' Toshiro shouted, surprised that the two Lieutenants, who were in the same room as him, hadn't woken.

'What's going on here?' both white haired captains froze and turned to the doorway, Unohana's smile doing little to ease their discomfort.

'Nothing,' Ukitake suddenly doubled over coughing, blood splattering through his fingers.

'Captain Ukitake,' her smile deepened, 'Please go back home and rest,'

'Yes,' Jushiro nodded and walked past her docilely to be met immediately by his Third Seats.

'And Captain Hitsugaya,' Toshiro barely suppressed a flinch, 'You should rest too if you want to leave tomorrow morning,'

With a sigh, the young captain slid back into the bed and closed his eyes. He didn't even notice when he fell asleep.

* * *

><p>'Captain?' a few hours later, Matsumoto's voice woke him and he sat up immediately, 'Are you there?'<p>

Slipping off the edge of the bed, Toshiro walked over to Matsumoto, 'Yes,'

'Thank goodness,' her eyes closed and she breathed a relieved sigh.

'You're supposed to be resting,' he ordered her sternly, 'Worry about yourself for a while,' he turned around again, 'I'm allowed to leave tomorrow so don't worry if I'm not here when you wake up again,' he almost smirked, 'You have to stay here for a few more days,'

'Thank you Captain,' the words were like a sigh as she drifted back to sleep.

Toshiro frowned as he sat down on the edge of the bed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep any more.

Suddenly his eyes flicked to the doorway and he watched as Captain Kuchiki walked in, calm and stoic as ever.

'Since Ukitake appears to have taken ill,' Toshiro nodded, and the other captain continued, 'I thought I'd inform you that he's ordered Kuchiki Rukia to return the day after tomorrow,'

'I see,' was all Toshiro said before Byakuya left.

Alone once again, the two unconscious Lieutenants didn't count, Toshiro wondered if Byakuya had also come just to make sure his Lieutenant was okay. The thought seemed funny.

* * *

><p>A knock on the wall beside the doorway startled Toshiro out of a half sleep. Straightening, and wondering how he'd been so comfortable sitting up, he almost decided to tell whoever it was to <em>go away<em>, but then he sensed the reiatsu.

'Come in Hinamori,' he called.

The Fifth Division Lieutenant looked nervous as she walked past the two other beds as quietly as possible before stopping before Toshiro.

'It's good to see you awake,' she was whispering, still trying not to disturb the others.

'Hinamori,' the tone in his voice made her blink, Toshiro continued expressionlessly, 'Don't whisper, it's bad for your throat,'

'But what about them?' she pointed across the room.

'They're not going to wake up,' he sighed.

'Oh, okay then,' Momo continued on in her normal voice, then she smiled, 'It's really, really good that you're okay! I didn't tell Granny because I thought you wouldn't want her to worry, but still,' she trailed off, noting his thoughtful expression, 'What are you thinking about?'

'Nothing,' turquoise eyes focused on soft brown ones.

She pulled a face, 'Don't lie to me Shiro-chan!'

'Don't call me Shiro-chan,' he retorted, still hardly believing that she was completely better - healthy enough to argue with.

'Well?' she put her hands on her hips and glared at him, 'Tell me!'

He paused, humour flitting briefly through his eyes, 'No,'

The disappointed expression that passed over her face was filled with innocence, 'That's not fair,' she complained.

'Hinamori?' two heads turned to watch Rangiku struggling to rise.

There was relief and expectation on Hinamori's face, 'Hello Rangiku, it's good that you're okay,'

The older woman blinked in surprise, 'Hinamori! You haven't grown a bit! How do you expect to become at all like me?'

Momo froze and Toshiro almost thought he felt heat radiating from his friend, 'Like you? W-who would want to grow as,' she cast around for a word, '_Oversized _as you?'

Rangiku tsked, shaking her head, looking at her captain, she sighed, 'Jealousy, it really is quite terrible,'

Momo thought she'd explode with rage. Toshiro thought so too.

The temperature in the room was becoming uncomfortably hot in the captain's opinion. Matsumoto didn't seem to notice and started saying how _cute _Hinamori would look in some of the _children's _clothes that she'd seen in the World of the Living.

'Now, now Hinamori,' everyone looked to the, as usual, smiling figure of Unohana Retsu, 'Don't overexert yourself. Matsumoto, please get some more rest,' then she gestured Momo forward, 'Come with me, it's time for your check up,'

'Bye-bye Shiro-chan,' Momo couldn't resist throwing the words over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

Sighing, Toshiro decided that he really couldn't wait to get out of the Relief Station and back to work.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I wonder which was worse for Toshiro . . . getting stabbed or getting visitors . . .


	12. Chapter 12: Fragile

_Chapter 12: Fragile_

The next morning, Unohana bid the young captain goodbye, warning him – with a perfect smile – that he still had to rest and not do anything dangerous. She watched him walk towards the Tenth Division barracks with a slight feeling of concern still weighing on her shoulders.

'Captain Unohana!' Kotetsu Isane appeared behind her, 'Lieutenant Renji is trying to escape! And Lieutenant Matsumoto is trying to steal sake from the store room,' she reddened slightly, 'And seduce random men,'

'Is that so, Isane?' the calm woman turned around and headed back inside, 'I'll see to the problem immediately,'

'Yes,' the shy Lieutenant bowed, 'But it is good to see them up and about,'

'Of course,' the look on Unohana's face was the one that intimidated even the Eleventh Division members. Renji and Rangiku were in for it.

* * *

><p>Toshiro wrote his Lieutenant's final report, having already finished his own, and glanced outside. Since it was around midday by now, he disliked the thought of stepping out of the shade, but he had somewhere he needed to go.<p>

With a heavy sigh, the captain set down his writing brush and stood, attaching Hyorinmaru to his back. Then he walked outside and, making sure no one was watching, he used some quick shunpo to leave the Seireitei.

As the air flew around his body, providing some relief from the sweltering heat, Toshiro wondered just how he was supposed to locate Kurayami – if she was even in the Soul Society – because trying to sense any reiatsu was useless. Instead, he just returned to the area near the waterfall, and stand at the top of the drop and waited.

'Captain,' the stoic acknowledgement from behind him made him turn.

Seeing Kurayami standing there, one hand resting on the hilt of her zanpakuto, made his former concern flare.

'Why didn't you heal one of the Lieutenants?' anguish lightly coloured his tone as he fought to keep his reiatsu under control, 'They were more heavily injured than I was,'

Walking forwards, Kurayami stood beside him, but faced the opposite direction, cool wind blowing her hair from her face, 'The captains of the Thirteen Protection Squads are the foundations of the Soul Society. And the Soul Society is like a sheet of glass balancing on those thirteen supports,' the calm levelness of her voice never wavered, 'Already three of those pillars have been knocked away. How many more can fall before that fragile glass shatters?'

Toshiro's eyes widened as his mind processed her words. It was true - the betrayal of the three captains and then their subsequent defeats had severely weakened the Seireitei.

As she continued, her red tinted eyes closed, 'In the short space of time before the other shinigami arrived, all I could do was heal you and stabilise the two Lieutenants. The healing skills of Unohana Retsu are much greater than mine so I figured they would be okay as long as they didn't die before she could help them,'

'_When Captain Kuchiki arrived with a small group of shinigami and one of the relief squads, your injuries were completely healed. The only way that we knew you'd even been hurt were the holes in your shihakusho,'_ Captain Unohana's words echoed in Toshiro's mind, _'When we found them, they weren't in any danger of losing their lives,'_

Kurayami spoke again, 'Those adjuchas were the last in Hueco Mundo. Or, at least, the last that could pose any threat to a captain or lieutenant level shinigami,'

Not sure of what to say, the young captain remained silent before remembering something else, 'Is it okay to leave the World of the Living relatively unguarded? I know Kurosaki and his friends could deal with most Hollows, but still,' he trailed off before adding, 'Kuchiki Rukia has been recalled and should be arriving tomorrow,'

'I see. The World of the Living, I think, is not the enemy's true objective. It is the Soul Society that should be worried,'

Before the captain even turned, he knew that Kurayami was gone.

* * *

><p>'Is my Lieutenant still here?' annoyance coloured a usually calm voice.<p>

'Your Lieutenant?' the night air provided welcome relief from the day's heat, but Toshiro was getting agitated and the shinigami he was speaking to knew it.

'Yes,' the white haired captain only just refrained from walking straight into the Relief Station.

'She was released with Abarai at midday today,' Toshiro turned as Unohana walked over, 'They were making too much noise and their injuries had already healed so I sent them home a couple of days early,'

'Really?' Toshiro was lost, 'Matsumoto should have been at the offices this afternoon then, but I can't find her anywhere,'

'I'm sorry, Captain Hitsugaya,' Unohana took her leave along with her Seventh Seat, 'Perhaps you should try again now,'

Wondering what she meant, Toshiro hurried back to the offices and threw open the door to the first sitting room, suddenly feeling Rangiku's reiatsu.

'Matsumoto!' the shout woke quite a few early sleepers, 'Abarai! What are you doing?'

'Relaxing and taking it easy like we were ordered to,' Rangiku slurred, waving a half empty sake bottle at the furious captain.

'Don't,' Renji hiccupped, 'Take any notice of us,'

The two were sprawled on either side of one of the low round tables, bottles and cups scattered around all over the floor.

Not wanting to even go there in his current state of mind, Toshiro just slammed the door shut and tried to pretend he hadn't seen anything. He walked back into his office and sat down, trying to compose himself, before falling asleep on the couch.

* * *

><p>'Rukia?' Ichigo knocked on his cupboard and waited for the short shinigami to open up, 'Aren't you leaving for the Soul Society tomorrow?'<p>

'So what if I am?' the door slid open and Rukia's glaring face appeared out of the darkness, 'It's too late to be talking. Go back to bed!'

'Hey!' Ichigo twitched, 'Why are you in there anyway? You're supposed to be sleeping in my sisters' room,'

'You only just noticed that I sneak in here every night?' the condescending air to her voice made his twitch intensify, 'And how come you knocked if you didn't know I was even in here?'

'I don't know,' Ichigo retorted, walking backwards to sit on his bed, sighing, he glanced back up at her, 'So, aren't you?'

'Yes, but what's the big deal?' swinging her legs over the side, she rested her head against the cupboard door, 'I go back and forth a lot,'

'Something feels wrong,' the orange haired teenager lay back on his bed, ignoring Kon's muffled squeak, 'Be careful,'

'Nee-san's leaving?' Kon cut Rukia's reply short as he wriggled out from under Ichigo's shoulder, 'Why?'

'I've got orders,' Rukia sighed and punched the perverted toy as he flew towards her, 'And besides, I'm sure Nee-sama's worried about me being left alone with you idiots,'

Ichigo sat up so fast that he was a blur, 'Don't go all 'Nee-sama! Oh my dearest Nee-sama! Right now' he did his best imitation of Rukia which made her flinch violently, 'I can't deal with that at this time of night!'

'Shut up or your family's going to wonder what little Ichigo's yelling about this late in the day,' Rukia mocked the furious substitute shinigami.

'Whatever,' Ichigo turned away and flicked off the light, 'But I'm serious, be careful,'

'Just shut up,' Rukia, despite being touched at his concern, turned away and slid shut the cupboard door, an exasperated frown on her face.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Everyone sounds like they're having fun . . . ?


	13. Chapter 13: When Reiatsu Vanishes

_Chapter 13: When Reiatsu Vanishes_

After waking up with a sore neck, Toshiro sat and, realising that he'd slept in his office, stood with a sigh. Walking into the corridor, he opened the door to the sitting room that the two Lieutenants had been occupying the night before, and wasn't too surprised to see both of them still there, unconscious with ridiculous smiles on their faces.

_When they both get headaches and still have to work, they'll regret this, _Toshiro thought rather triumphantly, _Except, since Matsumoto doesn't do much work anyway, it's really only Abarai who's going to suffer_.

Just as he finished the thought, the young captain turned and saw Kuchiki Byakuya appear at the door, 'Kuchiki,'

There was no mistaking the barely concealed anger in the usually impassive man's voice, 'Is my Lieutenant here?'

Thinking that Byakuya was coming here to say that quite a lot lately, Toshiro nodded, then, gesturing to the room he'd just left, he said, 'He's in there,'

Byakuya walked past him and slid open the door. The white haired captain standing beside him could almost swear he'd seen the older man twitch.

'Abarai,' the cold, expressionless voice cut through Renji's alcohol induced slumber and his eyes flashed open.

Horror crossed his face as he sat up carefully, trying to ignore the urge to clutch his head, and turned to face his quietly glowering captain.

'What are you doing?' Abarai flinched at each icy word, Byakuya turned away, 'Abarai,'

Not wanting to displease his captain further, if it was even possible, Renji leapt up and hurried out of the Tenth Division offices as fast as he could, wincing with each step.

After they'd disappeared from sight, Toshiro turned to glare at his own Lieutenant, 'Matsumoto,'

Rangiku was suddenly aware of it being way too cold for summer, and sat up, dropping the bottle she'd been clutching, and then she gasped, 'Captain!'

'Yes, Matsumoto?' the undisguised, white fury in his voice was terrifying.

'I-I'm sorry! I'll get to work immediately!' she stood up and stumbled towards him, then her eyes widened, 'Oops, sorry Captain,' she shot past him and called out from the door, 'I have a Shinigami Women's Association meeting to go to!'

The twitch above Toshiro's eye increased its tempo as he stormed back into his office and sat down, staring at the blank form for a long time before he was calm enough to pick up the brush.

Just as his fingers closed around the smooth wood, Toshiro sensed a Senkaimon open and Kuchiki Rukia's reiatsu.

* * *

><p>Ukitake looked up and immediately he knew something was wrong, 'Kiyone! Sentaro!' when they appeared, he struggled to rise from his bed, 'Find out where that Senkaimon opened!'<p>

'Yes sir,' realising that this was not the time for pointless squabbles, the two Third Seats rushed off.

'Rukia,' Jushiro's voice was raspy as he bit back a cough, 'Be careful!'

* * *

><p>Walking through the gardens in the Kuchiki Estate, Byakuya suddenly sensed his younger sister's reiatsu and turned slightly to glance at Abarai, 'Stay here and keep everyone in order,' Renji looked up and nodded at the command, knowing exactly where Byakuya was about to go.<p>

'Yes sir,' he hardly even saw the movement his captain used to vanish, and it wasn't because he was still suffering from the alcohol.

_Captain, _he thought, wondering just how fast Byakuya could really move, _Hurry!_

* * *

><p>Toshiro wondered why he felt so tense. Just because the Senkaimon had opened in west Rukongai instead of inside the Seireitei, he shouldn't be feeling so concerned. Ukitake's Thirds Seats had appeared a few minutes ago to tell him the location of the gate, so that meant that the captain of the Thirteenth Division also felt that something wasn't right.<p>

As the young captain sensed Byakuya moving towards where Rukia's reiatsu had appeared, he left the office and went to stand on the roof instead.

Suddenly, all three of the captains concerned for Rukia sensed her reiatsu flare. Ukitake got out of bed and, through sheer willpower, used some rapid shunpo to take him to where Toshiro was standing, ignoring the blood welling up his throat.

As he arrived, both white haired captains felt their eyes widen as Kuchiki Rukia's reiatsu vanished. Completely.

* * *

><p>Kuchiki Byakuya was feeling ill, and it wasn't because of what he ate for breakfast. His adopted younger sister, or his sister-in-law, was very important to him, even though he'd never openly admit it, and now it seemed like she was in danger.<p>

When he felt her reiatsu flare, the weight in his stomach seemed to triple, as he realised that she was fighting someone, or something. But that was still okay, she was strong enough to be a seated officer, after all. It was only when he was halfway to her location and her reiatsu disappeared completely that doubt really started to set in. Doubt. Kuchiki Byakuya _never _had any doubt in his abilities. He could still be surprised by some of the things that his opponents managed to pull off, but he never doubted his ability to win until the very end.

Increasing his pace yet again, the usually stoic captain frowned.

* * *

><p>'What do you think happened?' Ukitake was lying on a bed in the General Emergency Relief Station, and Toshiro was sitting on a chair beside him.<p>

'Don't dwell on it,' the younger captain tried to ease his own concern, 'I doubt with Captain Kuchiki going to her aid anything extreme could happen,'

Despite not normally using formal titles, Toshiro thought it appropriate, considering the tense situation. And, by 'extreme', he meant that he didn't think Rukia would die, but saying that was still a bit harsh.

Jushiro smiled, knowing how hard the other captain was trying to assure him, even though he also knew that Toshiro wasn't certain himself.

'Thank you Captain Hitsugaya,' he spoke as calmly as he could.

Toshiro just nodded. All they could do now was wait.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Isn't Rukia lucky to have so many people worried about her? XD


	14. Chapter 14: Rukia

_Chapter 14: Rukia_

'Hurry!' the raised voice of Lieutenant Isane could be heard and both white haired captains opened their eyes, 'Get out of the way!'

It was unusual to hear the usually quiet Lieutenant get so agitated.

Unohana suddenly entered the room from the back but she didn't stop at Ukitake, instead she walked through the room to look out the other door, 'Please make way,'

Toshiro could sense Byakuya's reiatsu and he glanced at Ukitake's drawn face, knowing that they'd both assumed the same thing.

Captain Kuchiki suddenly walked through the door, followed by Lieutenant Isane. Unohana guided the pair to the bed next to Ukitake.

While this was happening, Toshiro and Jushiro found their eyes locked on a small figure clutched tightly in blood stained hands.

Kuchiki Rukia.

Ukitake felt his breath catch as his eyes took in the two blood soaked shihakushos and the pale face of his subordinate.

Byakuya laid Rukia down on the white bedding gently and then stepped back, allowing Unohana and Isane to approach the bed.

'Are you hurt, Captain Kuchiki?' Jushiro asked worriedly.

'No,' when Ukitake heard Byakuya's negative answer, he could hardly believe it. He didn't _want _to believe it, because, if the captain was uninjured, then all of that blood was Rukia's.

'She's been stabbed in the side of her chest and slashed across the back,' Unohana spoke calmly, methodically checking over Rukia's limp body, 'Both wound are very deep but her spine is uninjured,'

'Right,' Isane nodded and rushed off to get what she believed would be necessary.

'Captain Kuchiki?' Unohana turned around, 'Please take a moment to return to the Sixth Division to clean up,'

Byakuya only nodded before exiting, his eyes never leaving Rukia.

A healing kido lit Unohana's hands as she began her work.

* * *

><p>An hour later, the calm woman turned from healing Rukia and faced the two other captains in the room, when she spoke, they heard her relief, 'Kuchiki Rukia is in a stable condition. Her life is no longer at risk,'<p>

Ukitake felt like passing out as all the tension in his body was suddenly released. Toshiro bit back a sigh and brought his hand to his head.

The knowledge that Kuchiki would be okay was almost enough to push the doubt from his mind. Although he didn't want to admit it, it _was _possible that the person who attacked Ukitake's subordinate was Kurayami. She had the skill to complete such an action without letting her reiatsu flare or leaving any trace on Rukia's body. However, she also seemed like the type of person who, if she aimed to kill, would kill, and not leave the victim any chance of survival.

_She knew about Unohana's skill, _he thought to himself, _So if she did attack Kuchiki and then left her for someone to find, then she would've known that Unohana would save her. And, if that's so, then why?_

His thoughts were interrupted by Abarai Renji who burst through the doorway, scattering various Fourth Division members on his way.

'How is she?' he was out of breath, fear filling his voice, eyes wide.

'She should be able to return to her duties in a week or so,' Unohana smiled at him.

Renji was relieved, but he also felt guilty and useless. His childhood friend had almost died and all he'd been able to do was keep the Sixth Division in line for a while. He was jealous of Captain Kuchiki despite himself.

'Matsumoto,' Toshiro noticed that his Lieutenant had arrived behind Renji.

Rangiku looked at the unconscious Rukia, and the clearly depressed Renji and then nodded at her captain, taking Renji's arm, she led him out of the room, 'Come on,' her voice was bright, 'Let's go for a drink!'

Renji nodded and some of the self-loathing lifted from his face.

Ukitake turned to Toshiro, 'Captain Hitsugaya, you should go back. I'm fine now and there's nothing we can do for Kuchiki,'

Toshiro blinked, coming out of his dark musings and nodded, 'Okay, are you going back now too?'

'That's right,' Ukitake got off the bed carefully and called for his Third Seats, 'Let's go now,'

'Yes sir!' they both ran to his side and tried to aid him in walking back to the Division Barracks, Jushiro glanced back at Toshiro as they walked out of the Relief Station, once again thinking that something was bothering the young captain, 'Believe in your friends, Captain Hitsugaya,' he wasn't sure why, but those seemed like the best words to say at that time. Then he turned and continued on his way to the Thirteenth Division barracks.

Toshiro stared at the other white haired captain's retreating back. Confusion swept through him and his frown deepened. Knowing that he would be unable to go and speak to Kurayami again for a couple of days – there were more reports to do and a captains' meeting to attend – he sighed and walked back to his office.

* * *

><p>In her unconscious slumber, Kuchiki Rukia felt cool hands begin to ease her pain. She tried to remember what had happened, but the only image that came to her mind was a blade piercing her chest just after her back had been cut open.<p>

She then remembered Ichigo's concern and smiled internally.

_Idiot, _she wasn't even sure if the thought was directed at the carrot head or herself.

A sudden feeling of urgency swept through her.

_Remember._

That one thought repeated, echoing through her head.

_Why can't I remember?_ not understanding the importance of what exactly she'd apparently forgotten, she tried to focus her hazy mind.

The shinigami managed to recall Byakuya's careful hands as he picked her up off the ground and carried her back to the Seireitei. Then a cold feeling, one completely opposite to the healing kido, enveloped her. A gray feeling, and then she thought she heard someone laugh.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I bet there's a certain someone who's incredibly angry at what happened to a certain Kuchiki Rukia . . . Nee-sama!


	15. Chapter 15: How Could You?

_Chapter 15: How Could You?_

In the Kuchiki Estate, everyone was trying their hardest not to disturb the Captain. Ever since he'd returned the day before, everyone had decided that Byakuya should be avoided at all costs. Despite the fact that the Lieutenant of the Sixth Division was nowhere to be found, it was easy to just go about daily activities and keep out of trouble.

Byakuya stared at the picture of his deceased wife, and Rukia's sister, Hisana, and tried, for the hundredth time, to work out what to say to her. Although Rukia was okay, she'd been very badly injured and he had promised Hisana that he would protect her younger sister.

'This act,' he finally spoke, eyes closed, 'Will not go unpunished. Whoever attempted to kill Rukia, will pay,'

Standing, Byakuya closed the doors that hid the picture and turned, walking out of the room. A silent, furious aura seemed to surround him and it was only made worse by the knowledge that, at that present moment, Kurosaki Ichigo was probably sleeping on a chair beside his sister's bed, having arrived earlier in the morning.

* * *

><p>Matsumoto had been with Renji since he'd burst into the Relief Station the day before, and Toshiro knew that. But something told him that it would've been a good idea to collect her the night before rather than let her wander back the next day.<p>

It was late in the morning when Rangiku staggered into his office talking to herself.

Toshiro's head snapped up, 'Have you been drinking with Abarai the whole night?'

'That's right,' it was amazing that she could even understand him, 'And I only just stopped right now,' she drunk the last mouthful from the bottle she held, 'But Renji passed out at midnight,' she laughed.

'I'm sure he did,' the young captain tried to ignore his Lieutenant's off key singing as she slumped on the couch. He was about to give up and yell at her when suddenly she just fell asleep. Sighing deeply, he returned to his paperwork, thoughts drifting to Ukitake, Kuchiki and Kurosaki. After all, both captains and the substitute shinigami had a much closer relationship to Kuchiki Rukia than he did.

* * *

><p>Renji woke up suddenly and looked around the room. Rangiku was gone but she'd left the mess of spilt alcohol, empty and smashed bottles, and a hole in the door for him to clean up. The hole looked suspiciously to be in the shape of a foot, but he ignored it for now.<p>

As he sat up, his former depression sank down upon him again and all he felt like doing was sulking. Then he remembered some of the drunken conversation he'd shared with the Tenth Division Lieutenant the night before.

'_Renji,' Matsumoto poured him another drink, 'Do you know that, in the World of the Living, clothes are just so cheap! And so cute!_

'_I know that,' _

That memory faded and another replaced it.

'_What's it like living at Urahara's? Is it scary?' Rangiku dropped the bottle she was holding with a laugh._

Finally, just as he was about to start cleaning up, another conversation floated from the alcohol haze in his mind.

'_Have you ever fought a Hollow?' the woman was leaning against the wall and staring at him dazedly._

'_Of course!' he snapped back at her, reaching for one of the two bottles in front of him only to find that he was seeing double._

'_How about a shinigami?' she was laughing._

'_Yes,' Renji wondered what she was going to say next._

'_Guess what,' the expectation in her eyes was childish._

'_What?' even drunk, Renji sighed._

'_I've met a Vasto Lorde arrancar shinigami before,' Matsumoto moved closer to him, 'She was in the World of the Living. Said she was a shinigami, but said she was an arrancar that had been a Vasto Lorde too,'_

'_Really?' he wasn't sure whether or not to believe her as she _was _drunk._

'_That's right,' she waggled a finger in front of his face, 'But you can't tell anyone,' then she smiled, 'I even think she comes to the Soul Society sometimes! And she looked powerful but gave off no reiatsu! Isn't that something?'_

'_No reiatsu? That's amazing,' he ignored her as she started talking about black hair and red tinted eyes._

Renji blinked. Had Matsumoto really said that? His mind was suddenly clear from any sort of confusion. That arrancar, who had short black hair and reddish eyes, was it possible that she was the one who attacked Rukia? Renji's mind began to work hard.

_If it came to the Soul Society, then, as a Hollow, it'd probably want to kill shinigami, but, as a Vasto Lorde arrancar, it'd be smart enough to sense that Captain Kuchiki was powerful. So after he arrived, it would've left, _Renji paused in his thinking, frowning, _But Matsumoto said it was also a shinigami. Interesting._

Not paying any more attention to the trashed room, Renji shot out the door and raced towards the Kuchiki Estate – his captain would definitely want to hear this.

* * *

><p>There was a wave of noise rolling towards Kuchiki Byakuya, and he wasn't so sure he was in the right state of mind to find out what it was. Consequently, when his Lieutenant burst through the staring Sixth Division members, he was almost taken aback. There was an urgent look in Renji's eyes so the captain turned and walked out of the barracks and into the fresh air.<p>

'Captain Kuchiki!' Renji stared hard at the impassive man before him, 'I think I know what hurt Kuchiki Rukia from the Thirteenth Division,' the red head tried hard to stay polite and respectful, 'Please listen to me!' he bowed.

Byakuya's eyes widened unnoticeably 'Go ahead Renji,'

'Thank you,' the Lieutenant gathered his thoughts and then opened his mouth to begin, 'Well you see Captain,'

* * *

><p>Toshiro set down his brush and rubbed his face, tired of hearing Matsumoto's snoring as he worked. Standing, he began walking towards the door, intent on getting some fresh air, when Matsumoto started laughing.<p>

Turning to look at her, he saw that she was still sleeping, but then she began to talk, 'Sh-short black hair, q-quite fashionable,' another chuckle, 'And eyes st-stained with b-blood,' she was mumbling almost incoherently, 'A basto rord arenka sidigani,'

Toshiro froze, _Did she just say Vasto Lorde arrancar shinigami?_

Rangiku's strange descriptions suddenly made sense and the young captain's eyes widened, his mind reeling.

'Matsumoto!' he walked over and shook her, 'Matsumoto!'

'Captain?' she sat up slowly, disorientated, 'What's wrong?'

She took in the clearly distressed expression her usually stoic captain was uncharacteristically displaying and thought that whatever had happened must be really terrible.

'What did you tell Abarai?' Toshiro had to fight to keep his voice calm.

'Abarai?' Matsumoto blinked, 'What do you mean?'

'Just now,' her captain covered his face with one of his arms, 'You were talking in your sleep,' his eyes met her's above the black fabric, 'Talking about Kuromi,'

The Lieutenant froze, suddenly recalling how she'd drunkenly told the Sixth Division Lieutenant about the strange girl. Somehow, her mind cleared instantly and she realised the possibly devastating consequence of what she'd done.

'I'm so sorry Captain,' her sky blue eyes were filled with horror, 'I told him,' anguish caused her voice to catch in her throat, 'I told him. I'm so sorry,'

A butterfly flew through the door and landed on Matsumoto's outstretched finger.

'All captains are to report immediately to the First Division Assembly Hall for an emergency meeting,' her voice almost broke as she spoke, looking at her captain she couldn't help but repeat herself as the messenger flew away, 'I'm so sorry,'

Toshiro didn't look at her again as he rushed out of the Tenth Division offices.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Bad things can happen if you get drunk. I wonder if Matsumoto will remember this the next time she finds some sake . . . probably not


	16. Chapter 16: A Captains Meeting

_Chapter 16: A Captains Meeting_

'I'm glad everyone could make this meeting on such short notice,' Head Captain Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stood at the end of the hall, hand resting on his staff, 'The Captain of the Sixth Division has something to report,'

Looking along the two rows of captains, Toshiro tried to relax his tense muscles and remember to breath.

'I was informed by my Lieutenant this morning that there is an arrancar that has access to the World of the Living, and also most probably the Soul Society,' Captain Kuchiki spoke as expressionlessly.

Captain Kyoraku of the Eighth Division tilted his large bamboo hat up to look at the stoic man, 'An arrancar in the Soul Society?' he sounded as laid back as usual.

'This arrancar is believed to be at the level of Vasto Lorde,' several pairs of eyes widened when Byakuya continued.

'Vasto Lorde?' the Head Captain opened his eyes fractionally, 'One that didn't participate in the Winter War?'

'That detail is unknown to me,' the Sixth Division captain didn't seem concerned, 'The only information that was reported to me was that a Vasto Lorde arrancar with the ability to completely suppress its reiatsu, had been sighted in the World of the Living. This Hollow is believed to be female in appearance and wears a uniform similar to a black shihakusho, with short black hair and red coloured eyes,'

Soifon, Second Division Captain and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukido, spoke suddenly, 'And this information is reliable?'

'I believe so,'

'There is no proof,' Captain Yamamoto spoke almost questioningly.

Kyoraku smiled, 'Proof old man?'

Toshiro looked at the captains who hadn't spoken yet – Unohana, Komamura Sajin of the Seventh Division, Kenpachi Zaraki of the Eleventh Division, Kurotsuchi Mayuri from the Twelfth Division, and Ukitake.

Zaraki suddenly took a step forwards, 'Vasto Lordes are strong, right? I want to fight it!'

'I won't let you!' Captain Kurotsuchi's rather unpleasant voice sounded, 'I want it for my research subject!'

'Quiet!' the Head Captain banged his staff on the ground, 'No decision has been made on who will fight yet, if anyone fights at all!'

'Excuse me,' Unohana's quiet voice made everyone turn and look at her, 'Has this arrancar committed any offensive actions to any creature yet?'

'It's probably the one who sliced up Kuchiki Rukia and left her for dead,' for some reason, Zaraki didn't sound concerned at all.

'What was that?' everyone moved their attention to Byakuya, who had opened his eyes and was gazing at the huge Eleventh Division captain.

'I said -,' Zaraki would've happily repeated himself but Yamamoto cut him off.

'It has been established that a Vasto Lorde arrancar is currently in existence,' his tone was final, 'And that Kuchiki Rukia's injuries were most likely inflicted by that arrancar. I think we should have a vote on the fate of this threat,'

'Before you asked for proof,' Soifon spoke again, 'However, lives are at risk if the person who attacked Kuchiki Rukia is masterminding the Hollow attacks. A Vasto Lorde could easily control lesser Hollows,' she raised her arm, 'I vote that this threat be exterminated,'

'Although we cannot be certain that this arrancar is responsible for either of those acts,' Captain Unohana sounded slightly regretful, 'I would not want human or shinigami lives risked over this matter. I cast my vote,' she raised her hand.

'If the Seireitei overlooks this, then its pride will be lost,' Captain Kuchiki was calm, 'I cast my vote,' he raised his hand, his face losing some of its tension.

Kyoraku looked across at Ukitake, 'What do you say, old friend?'

'The points put forward are strong ones,' Ukitake spoke carefully, 'However, before a death sentence is carried out, I would like to speak to this arrancar,'

'That might be possible,' Yamamoto nodded, 'If we fight this Hollow, we shall aim to capture it for questioning rather than kill it immediately,'

'Then I cast my vote,' Ukitake raised his hand.

'Me too,' Kyoraku smiled at his long term friend as his hand was also raised.

'I will vote if I can have the Vasto Lorde after you're finished with it,' Captain Kurotsuchi bared his teeth widely.

'We shall see,' the Head Captain spoke directly to him.

'Oh good,' Mayuri's hand was already twitching as he raised it.

'Captain Komamura?' Byakuya asked, turning towards the wolf-headed captain.

'The future of the Soul Society is of utmost importance,' he raised his arm, 'I cast my vote,'

'Only if I get to cross blades with it at least once,' Zaraki roared but he raised his hand anyway.

'Captain Hitsugaya?' Yamamoto opened one eye to look at the silent captain.

'I agree with Ukitake,' Toshiro spoke with care, 'A capture before killing strategy is something I agree to,' he raised his hand, 'I'd like to hear what that arrancar has to say,'

'Very well,' Yamamoto banged his staff, 'The vote is unanimous! Captains, prepare your Lieutenants to lead the initial strike,' he closed his eyes again, 'And send search parties to locate this Vasto Lorde!'

'Right!' all of the captains vanished with quick shunpo.

* * *

><p>Matsumoto was waiting outside the barracks for her captain and ran towards him when she spotted the white hair.<p>

'What happened?' she asked nervously.

He looked into her eyes, expression completely concealed, 'The votes have been cast. She will most likely die,'

Rangiku froze, 'You agreed to that?'

'I had no choice,' the young captain turned away and walked into his office.

* * *

><p>As twilight fell, Toshiro raced through the silent streets of the Seireitei and disappeared into the Rukongai. A short while later, he arrived at the waterfall, slightly out of breath. Pausing and looking around, he was forced to wait until Kurayami revealed her presence.<p>

_I have to hurry, _the thoughts crossed his mind just as he felt someone appear behind him.

'You have to leave,' he didn't wait before he started speaking, 'They're hunting you down,'

'Be quiet,' Kurayami's voice was cold, 'Don't speak again,'

Toshiro's eyes widened slightly but he did as he was told.

A second later, Matsumoto's voice rang out, 'Captain!'

The young captain turned and watched as hundreds of shinigami appeared in the air behind his Lieutenant. Glancing over the faces, he could tell that they were from various Divisions. His eyes picked out Ikkaku and Yumichika standing near Matsumoto, and then he watched as the rest of the Lieutenants, minus Abarai and Isane, appeared.

'Good work Captain!' Matsumoto smiled at him, 'You found the arrancar,'

Toshiro realised several things in a single instant. The first was that Kurayami hadn't moved an inch. The second was that the reiatsu of what seemed to be all of the captains had just left the Seireitei. And the third was that Matsumoto was trying to cover for him. She knew what would happen in these circumstances if it became known that he'd met with the arrancar before and allowed it to live.

Turning around to face Kurayami again, he reached for Hyorinmaru's hilt. Then he used shunpo to appear up beside Matsumoto.

Down below, the targeted shinigami closed her eyes, 'Are you here to kill me?'

As she asked everyone the same question that she'd once directed to Toshiro, the young captain had to fight to stay still.

'We are here to arrest you for the suspected attack on Kuchiki Rukia of the Thirteenth Division and the Hollow attacks on both worlds,' Matsumoto spoke clearly, then her gaze wavered for a second, 'If you surrender then you will be brought in unharmed,'

'I see,' red tinted eyes flicked open and one pale hand rested on the black wrapped hilt of her zanpakuto, 'I'm sorry things turned out like this,'

Then she drew the silver blade and held it ready.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Up against impossible odds? Or maybe not . . .


	17. Chapter 17: Strange Circumstances

_Chapter 17: Strange Circumstances_

'Is she mad?' Ikkaku whispered as lowly as he could to his longtime companion, 'Or just strong?'

'All I know is that she's beautiful,' Yumichiki replied with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Ikkaku huffed before turning back to watch Matsumoto draw her zanpakuto.

'Then we have no choice,' sounds of clinking metal rang out as all of the assembled shinigami followed Rangiku's lead.

Toshiro hesitated only once before drawing Hyorinmaru, but his mind was a confused whirl. Kurayami had only said 'I see' when accused of both major crimes, but that didn't mean that she was guilty, or that she was innocent.

Glancing down at her, standing on the edge of the waterfall and still emitting no reiatsu, he felt his eyes drawn towards her zanpakuto. It looked almost exactly like Kuchiki Rukia's except for slight variations to the guard and the colour of the hilt, and it was longer and in proportion to her taller figure.

'Go!' Matsumoto ordered, having taken control of the situation.

With a shout, Ikkaku leapt forwards, swinging both the sheath and blade of Hozukimaru. Kurayami looked up and, as his sword arced towards her head, raised her own and slid his attack off the tip of the zanpakuto, sending him flying off the edge of the waterfall.

The Second Division Lieutenant was watching everything like it was a movie in the World of the Living, stuffing his face with crackers.

Toshiro turned towards him, deciding that he looked like a suitable anger relief mechanism, and snapped, 'You're a Lieutenant! What would Soifon say if you came back without doing anything? You've been ordered to capture an arrancar,'

The big man nodded, a terrified look in his eyes as he surveyed the furious captain, and drew his zanpakuto.

'Crush, Gegetsuburi,' as the huge spiked ball appeared in his hands, he hesitated a moment longer before jumping forwards.

Faintly crimson eyes met Omaeda's on his descent and he wished there was some was of stopping his fall. However, as he got closer, he raised his zanpakuto, ready to smash it down onto the slight bodied arrancar.

One pale hand raised and caught the full force of his blow, plus his heavier than average weight, and then tossed him and his zanpakuto aside.

Ikkaku had just arrived again to see that and he was getting excited and hoped his captain wouldn't arrive to steal the fight too soon.

'Kyaaa!' the Third Seat rushed forwards, 'Grow! Hozukimaru!' Slamming the hilt and end of the sheath together, he released his shikai.

As the bladed end swung out, Kurayami vanished from her original position, appearing amongst the back rows of shingami.

Zanpakuto sheathed, she began using rapid hakuda to disarm and disable numerous surprised shinigami.

'Yumichika, go!' Matsumoto ordered the Fifth Seat away, concerned at how easily the others were being defeated.

'If I must,' the black haired man departed to appear quickly behind Kurayami.

_This, _Matsumoto searched for the slowly approaching reiatsu of the other captains, _It s__eems impossible that she could win._

* * *

><p>'You,' Yumichika glanced up when Kurayami spoke as she kicked away two more lower ranking shinigami, now in an empty space of air, 'Are you going to release your zanpakuto?'<p>

'Bloom, Fuji Kujaku,' he held up the now four bladed zanpakuto, 'You mean like that?'

'Your resolve is admirable,' her voice was expressionless, 'But you can't win like that,'

As Kurayami began attacking him, still unarmed, Yumichika couldn't help but be surprised, 'How did you know?' then he added, 'Don't tell anyone,'

'It's that zanpakuto's reiatsu,' she replied, 'And your secret is not mine to give,'

'I see,' noting the way her eyes darkened when she spoke, Yumichika couldn't help but think that, for such a beautiful woman, she seemed to hold too much sorrow and loneliness.

As he moved to block another one of her strikes, she drew back her hands, 'Bakudo 61, Rikujōkōrō,'

As the six beams of light bound him, Yumichika realised that she wasn't actually 'attacking' any of the shinigami. All of her moves, even the offensive ones, were designed to disable them, but no one was seriously injured.

'I see,' he nodded again.

Kurayami appeared back down on the waterfall and everyone turned around again. The number of shinigami had been severely lessened, but all of the Lieutenants, except Omaeda who was probably sleeping where he'd fallen, were still unharmed.

As Ikkaku released Yumichika with a few quick slashes of his zanpakuto, he surveyed his friend's thoughtful expression, 'What?'

'Nothing,' Yumichika walked back to the front to stand near Matsumoto again, 'I've,' he paused, 'Already forgotten,'

* * *

><p>'Halt!' the voice of the Head Captain sounded suddenly and everyone froze.<p>

Turning, they watched as all of the captains, except Unohana and Kurotsuchi, appeared above them.

'Take the injured back to the Relief Station,' the command was directed at all of the unseated shinigami, then Yamamoto looked to his Lieutenant, 'Organise everyone and leave as fast as possible,'

He received a nod, and then all of the remaining unseated shinigami used shunpo to gather up their fallen comrades. In a few minutes, the only people left standing in the air were the captains, the Lieutenants and two Seated Officers.

'Now,' the old captain spoke again, 'A barrier has been placed around the surrounding area,' his eyes opened slightly, 'You may go all out,'

'Right,' Kenpachi looked all to ready to jump down and start slashing.

Kurayami, who had been surveying her now more formidable opponents, spoke suddenly, 'I see that it would be foolish to fight you with an unreleased zanpakuto anymore,' she drew her katana.

* * *

><p>Kuchiki Rukia's eyes flashed open and she sat up, ignoring the slight pain in her back and chest. Turning, she saw Kurosaki Ichigo sitting on one chair in her room in the Relief Station, and Abarai Renji sitting on another. Both were asleep.<p>

Focusing, she felt a large group of reiatsu in west Rukongai and recognised her brother's and her captain's spiritual pressures.

Wondering what was going on, she got out of bed and dressed quickly in her shihakusho, fastening her zanpakuto to her waist.

Then she turned to her two sleeping friends, 'Wake up!' she banged on their heads hard.

'Rukia?' two dumbfounded looks was all she received.

'What?' she snapped, impatient now.

'Why are you awake and moving around?' Renji asked.

'Because I feel like it,' Rukia was getting mad, at the completely believing expressions on their faces, she smacked them again and yelled, 'No! I want you to take me to where that mass of reiatsu is!'

'That'll be most of the captains and lieutenants,' Renji nodded although Ichigo looked confused, 'They're out there fighting a Vasto Lorde arrancar, probably the one who attacked you,'

'Vasto Lorde arrancar?' Rukia didn't pause, 'Get up! I'm going there whether you're coming or not,'

She stormed out of the room and the other two followed quickly, knowing it wasn't worth losing their lives trying to disagree.

* * *

><p>'Release your zanpakuto?' Soifon questioned, 'Do you mean your Resurrección?'<p>

'I've never been any other level of Hollow except that of Vasto Lorde,' Kurayami's voice was impassive, 'As a shinigami, the sword release I am referring to is shikai,'

'What?' Soifon's eyes narrowed, 'How can you have a shikai if you're a Hollow?'

'Vasto Lorde arrancar, that is true,' her eyes closed, 'Always a shinigami but never a human,'

The assembled captains were confused but they couldn't just leave this Hollow, or shinigami, alone if she'd attacked a member of the Thirteen Protection Squads.

'You don't look like a Hollow,' Kyoraku said lazily.

'Would it be easier to take my life if I did?'

The captain who'd spoken looked at her thoughtfully, 'I'm not sure,'

* * *

><p>'Hurry up,' Rukia growled, using the fastest shunpo she could in her current state of body, to travel to the barrier.<p>

'We could go a lot faster if it wasn't for you!' Ichigo retorted.

Rukia glared at him and, in one quick movement, positioned herself on his back, 'Then on you go horsey,' she cackled.

'Why you-,' Ichigo shouted at her but he and Renji increased their pace anyway, arriving at the barrier in not much time at all.

To their surprise, the shield let them pass through and soon they were walking up behind the Lieutenants.

Rukia jumped off Ichigo's back and ran to the side, gaining a clear view or the waterfall. The others joined her just in time to hear Kurayami speak.

'Dance,' her eyes were closed and her arms extended before her, her left hand on her right forearm, as she began turning her right hand in a counter-clockwise circle, 'Sode no Kurayuki,'

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Will it turn into a really nasty fight . . . ?


	18. Chapter 18: This is Shikai

_Chapter 18: This is Shikai_

Cold air rushed from the top of the waterfall, freezing the water in its descent from the edge and whipping icy wind at the onlookers.

'What?' Ukitake heard himself say but his word was lost.

When the wind died down, everyone stared in shock at the zanpakuto Kurayami was holding steady in her right hand.

'That's,' Byakuya only barely suppressed the surprise in his voice, 'Kuchiki Rukia's Sode no Shirayuki,'

And it was identical apart from the fact that the blade was longer and the whole zanpakuto was black.

* * *

><p>Rukia's eyes were locked on the pure black zanpakuto, so similar to her own. Suddenly she froze.<p>

As everyone readied their weapons to continue the attack, she snapped out of her unmoving state.

'Wait!' using a quick shunpo, she positioned herself in front of Kurayami, 'Stop!'

'What is the meaning of this, Kuchiki?' the Head Captain boomed.

'Don't attack! She wasn't the one who injured me,' as everyone's eyes widened, Rukia continued, 'She didn't attack me,'

'Didn't attack you?' Soifon was skeptical, 'I hardly believe that,'

'It's true,' Rukia was firm, 'And if you must continue attacking, then fight me as well. It would be unjust to kill someone who's innocent just because they're a Hollow,'

'I agree,' Ichigo appeared beside her, Zangetsu drawn and pointing at the captains.

Renji hesitated before seeing Rukia's glare and then he quickly moved to stand beside them, 'For the sake of my life, I will defend this arrancar,'

The red head was feeling incredibly guilty now as he was the one who'd told his captain about the arrancar in the first place.

Toshiro took the opportunity to speak, 'Arrancar,' Kurayami looked up at him, 'Would you come into the Seireitei to further discuss what occurred?'

'One step into the Seireitei takes away freedom, makes prisoners,' the zanpakuto in her hand returned to its sealed form, 'I will come,' she sheathed the katana.

Soifon made rapid gestures with her hands and a binding light wrapped around Kurayami's form, 'Let's go!'

Everyone nodded and turned back to the Seireitei, listening to Kyoraku grumbling about not being needed at all.

* * *

><p>Outside the Tenth Division prison cells, Toshiro waited until no one was around, before walking inside. He carried Sode no Kurayuki in his hands.<p>

Looking at the current prisoner, he placed the katana on a table and then hesitated, 'You could just escape,'

Kurayami didn't turn from where she was sitting, back facing him as she stared out the small window, 'There is no point,'

'What are you waiting for?' he was inquisitive.

'To see how this pans out,' was her reply, 'I'm curious,'

_So that makes two of us then, _Toshiro thought dryly.

'Your zanpakuto,' he trailed off, not sure how to continue.

'What about it?' the calm in her voice was admirable.

'It's like the one belonging to the shinigami who tried to protect you last night,'

'_Like' isn't a strong enough word, _he thought to himself.

'How interesting,' her flat tone didn't exactly invite further conversation.

Toshiro was about to apologise for Matsumoto revealing her secret when he heard a commotion outside.

'No! You can't go in there!' several stressed voices were saying.

'Move aside, I can go in there and I will,' Toshiro's eyes widened when he recognised Captain Kurotsuchi's harsh voice.

The door was suddenly flung open and the painted face of Mayuri appeared, 'Captain Hitsugaya, I have an appointment with your prisoner,' he bared his yellow teeth.

* * *

><p>Lying on her bed in the Kuchiki Estate, Rukia sighed. Her brother had insisted she stay there for a few more days until Captain Unohana said she was fully healed.<p>

Suddenly memories surfaced in her mind and her eyes widened.

Rukia recalled stepping out of the Senkaimon and finding herself in Junrinan, then a terrible pain cut across her back and she'd turned, drawing her zanpakuto. Then, out of nowhere, a silver blade had pierced her chest before being drawn back for another strike. The sealed Sode no Shirayuki had slid from her fingers and she'd felt herself falling to her knees. As the blade had shot forwards again to finish her off, a moon pale hand had grasped it inches from her chest. She'd looked up, blurred vision picking up black hair and red tinted eyes. Just before she'd passed out, a cool feeling had spread through her and then soft darkness had enveloped her mind.

'Nee-sama!' Rukia's voice carried through to Byakuya who was writing in the next room, 'I need to talk to you!'

* * *

><p>'What do you want, Kurotsuchi?' Toshiro knew why the scientist had come but he wasn't sure whether or not anyone else knew he was here. The Twelfth Division captain had been set on getting Kurayami as a research subject and, now that she was caught, Toshiro didn't doubt that the other man would go against Yamamoto's word and start experimenting on the arrancar before anyone had a chance to speak to her.<p>

'I want that,' he pointed a finger at Kurayami who hadn't turned around, 'Now,'

'What authority do you have to take a prisoner from another Division?' Toshiro asked calmly.

'Your Division only got it in the first place because you found it and your Lieutenant organised the attack,' Mayuri leaned forward, eyes wide.

'Mayuri,' the quiet and extremely polite voice of Mayuri's Lieutenant, Kurotsuchi Nemu, sounded from behind him and the woman appeared.

'What are you doing here?' the captain rounded on her, 'I told you to continue researching that reiatsu!'

'I'm sorry Mayuri!' she just turned and left, not saying whatever she'd arrived to say because it would go against Kurotsuchi's will. Toshiro wasn't sure why she'd wasted her time.

'Now,' the captain turned to face Toshiro again, 'Hand it over,'

'I think not,' the expressionless voice made both captains turn to the doorway.

'Kuchiki!' Mayuri sounded surprised, having obviously been unaware of his arrival.

Byakuya entered the room and picked up Kurayami's zanpakuto from the table before turned and opening her cell. Walking inside, he handed the katana to the still seated prisoner.

'What are you doing?' the scientist was furious and shocked. He raised his twitching hands.

'Go back to the Twelfth Division,' the Sixth Division's captain turned his cold glare to Mayuri, 'You have no more business here,'

Toshiro watched the fury that passed over Kurotsuchi's face as he turned and left, not wanting to have his little breach of the agreement become common knowledge that would undoubtedly end up at the Head Captain.

'Kuchiki,' he turned to face the stoic captain, 'What's this about?'

'Come with me,' Byakuya turned and left the room. Toshiro looked at Kurayami, who had risen and begun walking after Byakuya, and then followed both of them.

* * *

><p>Rukia looked up as she sensed the reiatsu of her brother and Captain Hitsugaya approaching her room. She was dressed in her shihakusho and Sode no Shirayuki was at her waist. As she sat waiting, her fingers touched the hilt lightly and she wondered about the arrancar's zanpakuto.<p>

_An arrancar with a shikai, _she mused thoughtfully, _How odd._

Her head snapped up as her brother stepped through the gate and into the small garden before her room, 'Nee-sama!'

Byakuya continued walking towards her and then paused by the edge of the raised platform she was on, 'Captain Hitsugaya,' he looked at Kurayami, 'Arrancar,'

The black haired arrancar shinigami tilted her head slightly, 'Kuromi Kurayami,'

Rukia found her eyes drawn to the graceful young woman, 'Kuchiki Rukia,' she introduced herself politely, 'It's nice to meet you,'

Toshiro glanced at Kurayami and saw the surprise flit through her eyes at Kuchiki's friendly words.

'What's this about?' the white haired captain asked again.

Rukia reddened slighty, 'Oh,' she stuttered, 'I just wanted to thank Kuromi for saving my life,'

Toshiro hid his surprise well, 'I see,'

Byakuya turned and used shunpo to vanish, obviously reasoning that Rukia's life wasn't at risk even if he left her with her two guests.

The seated shinigami stood up and gestured for everyone to enter the sitting room, closing the screen behind them.

* * *

><p>Rukia felt strange as she poured tea for her two guests. After all, apart from going on some missions to the World of the Living with him, she hardly saw Captain Hitsugaya, and Kuromi was a completely new person altogether.<p>

Picking up her cup, she spoke, the indifferent gazes she was receiving unnerving her slightly, 'So,' she bowed slightly, 'Thank you,'

When Kurayami raised her hand and reached out to Rukia, she barely suppressed a flinch. Toshiro watched in interest as a black light formed around white hands as fingertips touched the shinigami's shoulder.

Rukia's eyes widened slightly as a familiar cool feeling flowed through her and then she blinked as she felt her still scarred skin beginning to heal.

'Oh,' she managed to say as she hastily replaced her cup on the table to prevent herself from spilling tea down her front.

A few minutes later, no trace remained of the wounds at all.

'Amazing,' Rukia stretched and flexed her muscles, marveling at the ease of movement, 'Was that how you healed me before?'

'Unohana's kido is what healed you,' Kurayami spoke as she withdrew her hand, 'All I did was remove the scars a little faster than they would have faded,'

'How did you know it was Kuromi who saved you?' Toshiro asked as he sipped his own tea.

'I remembered that a strangely dressed shinigami with black hair and reddish eyes appeared to stop the killing blow,' Rukia didn't shake but her eyes were sad, then she blinked, 'Oh no, I didn't mean strange,' she cut herself off.

Although Toshiro didn't know Kuchiki Rukia well, she didn't seem to be her confident, out-spoken and occasionally violent self.

The other door to the room opened and revealed Byakuya, but, before Rukia could say anything, everyone's heads snapped to the screen closing the room off from the garden.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

After bothering to release her zanpakuto, I wonder if Kurayami was disappointed that she didn't get to use it . . .


	19. Chapter 19: Really, Ichigo?

_Chapter 19: Really, Ichigo?_

Four sets of eyes widened slightly as everyone took in Kurosaki Ichigo's silhouette making rapid progress through the garden towards them, shielded by the screen.

Byakuya was about to open his mouth and say something, when there was a loud crash and Ichigo came flying through the now ripped and broken door, Zangetsu drawn in his hand.

Toshiro watched as Kurayami set down her teacup at a normal speed, and then his eyes hardly saw the next movement as she raised her forearm and blocked Ichigo's strike. He noticed that her eyes were redder than usual and assumed that, in order to utilise her hierro, she needed to be partially Hollowfied.

'Look out! It's an escaped arrancar!' Ichigo screamed at everyone's dumbstruck faces – even Byakuya looked taken aback and only Kurayami remained impassive, 'Run!'

There was a pause and then . . .

'Ichigo! You idiot!' Toshiro was hardly surprised when Rukia flew into a kick and sent the substitute shinigami crashing back through the now definitely mangled screen and into the garden, 'What do you think you're doing?'

Ichigo sat up, the flower petals and sticks in his hair making him look ridiculous and blinked, suddenly realising that his friend had been having tea with the arrancar, _and _Toshiro, _and _Byakuya, 'Oh,'

Rukia's fury caused her reiatsu to whip cold air around the small tea room, she advanced on the orange haired teenager, 'Ichigo,' her voice was menacing, 'What were you doing?'

'I-I thought you were about to be attacked by th-that arrancar,' the shinigami stood and tried to back away but tripped over a tree root and went sprawling.

'And you just happened to miss the reiatsu of Captain Hitsugaya and Nee-sama?' her eyes were shining with a dark light.

'Th-that's right,' Ichigo was cringing and Toshiro bit back a smirk.

Rukia suddenly seemed to remember that she had an audience and froze, plastering a sweet smile on her face she offered her hand to Ichigo, 'Care to join us for tea?'

The fear and suspicion that emerged on Kurosaki's face was priceless as he gingerly accepted her hand and stood, his voice was skeptical, 'Sure,'

'Let's go then,' Rukia was smiling so deeply that her eyes were closed into slits, 'Or the tea will get _cold_,' she pronounced each letter of the word 'cold' very carefully.

Ichigo shuddered.

* * *

><p>'I apologise for my rude behaviour!' Ichigo's head smashed against the table after he spoke, rattling the teapot and cups, before Rukia released him.<p>

Byakuya had left as soon as the orange haired shinigami had sat down, but the other two watched the whole thing with hidden amusement.

'Good,' Rukia hadn't stopped smiling, 'Now, this is Kuromi Kurayami, a Vasto Lorde arrancar shinigami, the one who saved my life while you were at home sleeping,'

Ichigo began to protest but a direct hit to his cheekbone quickly subdued him.

Turning back to Kurayami, Rukia asked a question that had been bothering her for a while, 'When all of those shinigami arrived to attack you and accuse you of those crimes,' she paused, 'Why didn't you deny them?'

'It is a shinigami's nature to hate Hollows,' Kurayami closed her eyes passively, 'So why should they have listened?'

Toshiro suddenly sensed multiple spiritual pressures approaching.

'Chad!' Ichigo leapt up and walked over the trashed screen, peering outside, 'Uryu! Inoue!'

'Kurosaki,' Uryu sounded exasperated, 'We're over here,'

Ichigo turned around as his three friends walked through the door that Byakuya had left through a while ago.

'Hey Rukia!' Orihime started to run across to her when she noticed the two other guests, 'Wow! You have visitors!'

'That sounds kind of insulting Inoue,' Ichigo said dryly.

'Be quiet!' Uryu hissed suddenly and everyone went dead silent, then the Quincy relaxed, 'Don't worry,'

'What on earth was that about?' Ichigo demanded, clearly not amused by the whole thing.

'I thought I sensed _his _reiatsu,' Uryu pushed up his glasses, looking annoyed at the same time as _paranoid._

'Who's he?' Chad asked at the same time Inoue asked who broke the door down.

'Kurotsuchi,' the distaste in his tone was unmistakable.

'You,' Chad paused, 'Really don't like him, do you?'

Ishida didn't reply but his eye twitched.

'So who are you? You look like you're our age,' Orihime leaned towards Kurayami and Toshiro saw the shinigami's fingers jerk, 'I'm Inoue Orihime,'

'Kuromi Kurayami,' the invasion of her personal space made her tone a little colder than usual.

'She's a Vasto Lorde arrancar shinigami, and I think she's a lot older than seventeen,' Ichigo stated as if it were an everyday thing. Toshiro noted that the person in question almost flinched as it was repeated, yet again, that she wasn't just a shinigami, or a Hollow.

'That's amazing!' Orihime sat down on the floor and smiled warmly at Kurayami. Toshiro began thinking that this small room was definitely not made for so many people and rose to excuse himself, 'I have to go,'

'Hey Toshiro,' the white haired captain rounded on Ichigo but the substitute shinigami cut him off, 'Is Kurayami still a prisoner?'

Glancing down, the young captain watched as cold shock passed through red tinted eyes. Clearly he wasn't the only one who thought Ichigo's lack of formality was _unusual_.

'No, I don't think so. I don't think Kuchiki,' everyone knew which one he meant, 'Would allow it now that he knows what she did,'

Kurayami stood suddenly and walked away, stepping through the empty doorway and disappearing from the garden with an impressive shunpo.

Ichigo blinked, 'Did I say something_ that_ rude?'

Rukia just sent him flying out the door again.

* * *

><p>Sighing for the tenth time, Toshiro arrived at his office and sat down, briefly wondering where Matsumoto was before he saw her sitting on a chair in the next room, apparently reading a report.<p>

'Captain!' she spoke brightly but her saw the darkness under her eyes, 'See! I'm reading this report from the Third Division,'

'Why?' the young captain found it disturbing, even if she was just trying to make up for revealing Kurayami's secret.

'Because,' something passed through her pale eyes but he missed its meaning, 'I wanted to,'

'You should apologise sometime,' he turned to leave, 'Kuromi isn't the Seireitei's prisoner anymore,' he wasn't sure if that was definite, but he didn't think Byakuya would let her act go unrewarded. Still, since she'd vanished anyway, it wouldn't make a difference if she _was _still supposed to be in the Tenth Division cells.

* * *

><p><em>What <em>was _that? _Kurayami sat on the edge of Sogyoku Hill, one leg dangling from the edge and the other tucked to her chest, _It felt like if one of those five people were removed, that group would cease to function normally anymore. This feeling, _she looked up at the sky, _Is one I haven't experienced in a very long, long time._

Her contemplative thoughts were interrupted by a messenger butterfly. A white hand shot out and intercepted the message.

_Let it be known that, from this day onwards, the arrancar Kuromi Kurayami, is a guest of the Seireitei, _there was a pause and then, _However, if this arrancar displays any aggressive behaviour, then captains and lieutenants have permission to execute it._

Kurayami couldn't help feeling surprised at how quickly she'd been released. The captain, who'd returned her zanpakuto, Kuchiki Byakuya, must either be incredibly persuasive, or the Soul Society was just far too trusting.

Her thoughts turned to another captain, but one who was much younger. She didn't understand why, as a leader of one of the Thirteen Protection Squads, he hadn't tried to kill her as soon as he knew she was an arrancar.

_Hitsugaya Toshiro_, she thought, _You're a very strange shinigami_.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I was just wondering where anybody who is kind enough to take the time to read this, thinks the story is going? I'm curious! Tell me, tell me! . . . Maybe it'll surprise you . . .


	20. Chapter 20: In Tune

_Chapter 20: In Tune_

Toshiro looked up when he heard a knock on his office door, and frowned slightly, wondering who it was. Matsumoto had vanished in the morning, and he hadn't expected her back yet.

As he called out a come in, the young captain recalled yesterday's events, and how he'd told Matsumoto to apologise to Kuromi.

_Perhaps that's what she's off doing, _he thought as the door opened.

Toshiro blinked in barely concealed astonishment as Kurayami walked into his office, looking around at everything curiously.

'Captain Hitsugaya,' the greeting was expressionless.

'What are you doing?' he knew it sounded kind of rude, but he wanted to know.

The black haired arrancar shinigami sat down on one of the couches, 'I spoke to Unohana earlier this morning and she told me to go to the Tenth Division offices and help file the Fifth Division's paperwork as Lieutenant Hinamori isn't allowed to take on all of the work yet,' she looked over at him, 'Do you have that paperwork?'

'Of course,' Toshiro took the opportunity to turn around and gather together the completed Fifth Division documents that he'd been working on in the last few days, 'Here,'

Kurayami stood and picked up the stack easily, taking it back to the low table near the seats, and then kneeling on the ground before it, 'Lieutenant Hinamori told me how to file the documents. And she said to say,' the shinigami paused, adjusting her tone of voice to one more like Momo's happy chatter, 'Hello Shiro-chan! I hope you have a nice day and thanks for all your help with the work!'

Toshiro was rather taken aback by the whole thing and seeing the usually stoic arrancar shinigami speaking like his childhood friend was rather shocking. Especially since she did it so well.

'If you see her again,' he said after a slight silence, 'Tell her not to call me Shiro-chan!'

Interestingly, he thought he saw a flicker of amusement pass through reddish eyes but he couldn't be sure.

* * *

><p>Matsumoto walked down another street, grumbling to herself. She'd gotten up early, somehow, fuelled with guilt about Kurayami, but now she couldn't even find the arrancar to say sorry.<p>

It was all well and good to completely hide your reiatsu when you're trying not to draw attention to yourself, but when someone's trying to look for you, it isn't so useful.

'Are you okay, Rangiku?' Matsumoto whirled around when she heard the voice, coming face to face with Hisagi Shuuhei, Lieutenant of the Ninth Division.

'No!' she wailed grabbing onto the front of his sleeveless shihakusho, 'I'm not okay, not okay!'

'What's wrong?' he sounded alarmed.

Matsumoto knew that he _liked _her, and she made every action to take advantage of that fact.

'I can't find her!' she shook him so hard that his teeth were rattling, 'And I've been looking for ages!'

'Who?' he was getting more and more confused and worried by this point.

'Kuromi Kurayami! The Vasto Lorde arrancar shinigami who was recently unclassified as a threat! The girl who can completely suppress her reiatsu and make herself impossible to find!' Matsumoto threw her arms in the air dramatically and began to storm off.

'Rangiku wait!' she grinned when he called out, then calmed her expression and turned around again.

'What?' she asked innocently, still trying hard to keep up her helpless appearance.

'Your captain found the arrancar shinigami in the first place,' he spoke thoughtfully, 'So maybe you should've just asked him where he thinks she is,'

'Thank you Hisagi!' she jumped forwards and hugged him before racing off using shunpo.

Shuuhei stood frozen for a few minutes after, until someone from his Division, which he was in charge of since Captain Tosen's betrayal with Aizen, called out to him.

'Coming,' trying not to look too happy, he turned and walked back to the offices.

* * *

><p>Matsumoto crept through the Tenth Division offices, trying not to be spotted by anyone who would stop her to ask questions. She was only a few doors away from her captain's office and she didn't want to be held up now.<p>

'Lieutenant,' she jumped when someone suddenly spoke to her. Turning, she saw it was an unseated shinigami from the Tenth Division, her Division.

'Yes?' she was impatient, glaring down at the short shinigami fiercely.

'Don't worry! It's nothing!' the young girl turned and fled, shaking.

Although Rangiku felt a bit guilty, she had a larger problem to deal with at the moment and nothing was going to stop her from rectifying it.

Opening the captain's door very slightly, she peeked in, seeking out his form.

Her eyes widened as, after she'd spotted her captain writing at his desk, she saw the arrancar shinigami she was searching for kneeling on the ground and sorting through documents that appeared to be from the Fifth Division.

Looking at the quiet, peaceful scene, Rangiku found that she wouldn't want to interrupt for anything. It was interesting really, because, if Sode no Kurayuki was an ice type zanpakuto like Sode no Shirayuki, then both her captain and the arrancar shinigami were ice wielders. The cool air seeping out of the room was refreshing, but it made her shiver slightly.

They seemed so calm and in tune, and both appeared immersed in their work.

Smiling, Rangiku closed the door again and turned to leave, ordering everyone to stay away from the office _or else_.

* * *

><p>Kurayami found that the documents were all filled in with absolute precision, every detail included, written down in neat characters. She had scanned through many of the papers and the vast majority was like that. Occasionally she'd find one written quickly in a more feminine hand and assumed that those must have been written by Lieutenant Matsumoto.<p>

When she'd gotten to the third bundle of papers, she'd sensed Matsumoto's muffled reiatsu on the other side of the door. She'd waited for the bubbly woman to enter, but a few minutes later, the presence faded.

Looking up at the white haired captain, she paused before saying, 'Your Lieutenant was here just now,'

Toshiro glanced up in surprise. He'd been so focused that everything else had faded into obscurity.

'She was?' he sounded surprised, a difference from his usual calm tone.

'She wanted to talk to you, but she left,' the black haired shinigami continued.

'Really?' Toshiro found himself unable to say much, he replaced his brush, 'I wonder what she wanted to say,'

Kurayami flicked her fingers suddenly, a black kido light enveloping them, and then she held out her hand.

The young captain was amused to see a barrier break around her wrist and a small packet appeared, strapped to her arm.

Catching his slight, rare smile, surprise flickered through Kurayami's eyes, and then she said in a deadpan voice, 'Amanattō,'

'That's a unique use for kido,' Toshiro commented as he caught the packet, 'Thanks,'

Kurayami didn't speak again, she just turned back to her work and picked up the next bundle of papers.

Toshiro, despite feeling surprised, was glad of her silent companionship.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I guess you could call this a filler chapter . . . but I hope you enjoyed anyway!


	21. Chapter 21: Menos Grande

_Chapter 21: Menos Grande_

The next day, Toshiro was sleeping at his desk when he sensed someone approaching. Opening his eyes, he watched as Ishida Uryu crept into the room and cast around, seemingly looking for something. There was another noise outside and the pale Quincy froze before diving under a couch.

Suddenly the black and white painted face of Kurotsuchi appeared around the door, 'Quincy,' he called out, 'I know you're in here,'

'Kurotsuchi,' Toshiro stood and walked towards the captain, 'What are you doing?'

'Tracking that Quincy,' Mayuri cackled, 'He _hates _it,'

'Well, since I'm trying to _work_,' Toshiro knew that it was dangerous to indirectly insult Kurotsuchi, but he continued anyway, 'Could you please leave?'

Mayuri just laughed and walked away, abruptly pausing after just a few steps, 'Ah, I was supposed to tell you that I'm currently researching the two zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki and Sode no Kurayuki. I was wondering if there was a reason for them being so similar,' yellow gold teeth bared in a grin, 'Goodbye,'

Toshiro, despite being interested in what the captain had said, decided that Kurotsuchi's 'tracking' hadn't been very important.

Uryu slid out from under the seat and brushed himself off, turning to the captain, who was just sitting back down, he said, 'Thank you,'

Toshiro took a calming breath, wondering why everyone seemed to have set out on missions to make as much fuss while in his presence as possible, 'What _were _you doing?'

He really actually didn't want to know.

'Hiding from that sadistic, maniacal, insane,' Toshiro tuned out as the list continued, refocusing only as the agitated teenager finished speaking, 'Excuse of a scientist and shinigami captain,' then he breathed in deeply and composed himself, 'I'm sorry if I disturbed you,'

Toshiro just nodded as he was left alone once again.

* * *

><p>Rukia was sitting in a tree and trying to focus nothing. If her mind wandered for a second, she began imagining all of the terrible things she'd do to Renji or Ichigo is they dared show their faces here again.<p>

Only yesterday they'd come to visit her and ended up destroying two screens and a table, and this morning, before the two of them left to fight some menos grande, they'd appeared only to leave five minutes later after insulting her.

_Nee-sama doesn't approve of Ichigo, _the shinigami thought as she leant against the tree trunk, _But he does respect everything he's done for the Soul Society. And I know he respects Renji too, _her eyebrow twitched, _Except when he's being an idiot. No one in their right mind would think remotely about respecting him then._

'Rukia!' Orihime's cheerful voice made her look down, 'Hi!'

'Hello Orihime,' jumping from the tree, Rukia made her way over to her friend, then she paused, 'I know this might sound strange, but why did you come to the Soul Society in the first place?'

'We've been here for a few days or so and you only thought to ask that now?' Orihime giggled, 'We came because Urahara said,' she leaned forwards and spoke conspiratorially, mimicking the shopkeeper's voice, 'It looks like its pretty exciting there at the moment,'

Rukia tried hard not to let her amusement show, 'I see,'

'Anyway!' Orihime grabbed her hand and began dragging her away, 'Let's go do something fun!'

* * *

><p>Ikkaku glared at Matsumoto as she made another weak joke about his hairstyle, or lack of one, and everyone else snickered.<p>

A thrumming twitch was pounding over his eye and, at last, he shouted, 'I'm _not _bald!'

Yumichika, Renji and Ichigo all looked at him in amusement, then, in unison, they all said, 'Yes you are,'

Then, Yumichika, deciding that there really was only so much verbal bashing a person could handle in one day, commented, 'So Renji, what are we doing out here anyway?'

He looked over the empty expanse of land in east Rukongai that they were currently standing in – a large field surrounded by tall, dark trees.

'Menos Grande,' the Sixth Division Lieutenant didn't sound concerned, 'Shouldn't be a problem,'

As he finished speaking, a cero hit the ground a metre from him, causing everyone to jump.

'What?' Rangiku's eyes were wide, 'No reiatsu?'

Ichigo pulled Zangetsu from his back and cast around, eyes searching through the tall trees for any signs of the menos. Renji and Yumichika released their shikais.

Another red blast shot from the foliage and the five shinigami scattered.

None of them could see the massive Hollows, or sense them – it seemed like an impossible situation.

'Getsuga Tensho!' Ichigo fired off a blast through the trees and there was a muffled noise as if it had hit something.

'Bankai!' understanding Ichigo's strategy – which wasn't a strategy at all, more like 'yay! Let's fire dangerous blasts of energy in random directions and hope nobody gets hurt' – Renji released his zanpakuto, 'Hihio Zabimaru,' turning around, he yelled, 'Hikotsu Taiho,'

A bolt of red energy flew from the snake like jaws of his bankai and there was another muffled sound.

Matsumoto had been jumping up through the branches of the tallest tree nearby, and now she turned around to see if she could locate the menos. As the woman did a full revolution, his eyes widened slightly and a feeling of hopelessness began to tug at her.

There weren't just a few of the mammoth Hollows as they'd originally thought – beyond the thin ring of trees, hundreds of menos moved slowly towards them. Already they were moving through the trees, the ones with smoking mouths presumably the ones who fired the ceros, and she also noticed that two were injured. She realised that Kurosaki's 'strategy' would be the most effective, as wherever they aimed, they would be certain to hit a menos.

Reaching for the communications device she carried, Rangiku spoke into the microphone, 'This is Matsumoto Rangiku, Lieutenant of the Tenth Division, requesting immediate backup,'

* * *

><p>'Are you serious?' Renji sounded shocked, 'We should call for reinforcements,'<p>

Rangiku cut him off, 'I've already done that, they should arrive soon,'

'Right,' Ikkaku stretched, 'Let's get a move on then!'

Without waiting for anyone else, he leapt towards the trees, vanishing. There was silence for a moment, and then a crash as the first menos was felled.

Yumichika didn't hesitate before disappearing after his friend.

'Ichigo,' Renji glared at the orange haired shinigami, 'If you die, I'll kill you in Rukia's stead,'

Rangiku couldn't help but laugh at the two of them, and she found Ichigo's blank expression especially funny, so she kept chuckling even as she released her zanpakuto.

The ash flew out as she jumped up into the sky, surrounding one of the menos. Making sure that the Hollow had been covered well, Matsumoto jerked on the hilt of Heineko and the ash tore apart the white mask.

Ceros and reiatsu blasts went off randomly and the whole area was chaos.

* * *

><p>'Hyaaaah!' the five shinigami paused in their attacks when a harsh roar sounded and a wave of gold reiatsu sliced four menos grande in half.<p>

'Zaraki!' Ikkaku turned around from where he was and used shunpo to arrive near his captain, Yumichika not far behind.

'What a good gathering,' resting his zanpakuto on his shoulder, Kenpachi Zaraki grinned widely, 'This should be fun,'

Matsumoto found herself surprisingly relieved when the fearsome captain of the Eleventh Division appeared and hoped that, despite the multitudes of menos, they might be able to win.

'Are you the only back up they could afford to send?' Ichigo yelled as he slashed through another Hollow.

Zaraki's grin was menacing as he shot forwards, zanpakuto missing Ichigo's head by millimetres, 'You're in my way!' he shouted as he cleaved two more menos in half.

Ichigo almost swore as he used shunpo to remove himself from the area directly around Kenpachi.

Then the air around them turned red as all of the menos grande, who had gathered tightly around the circle of grass, began charging their ceros.

Five pairs of eyes widened in horror as everyone except Zaraki, believed that maybe they wouldn't be as lucky as they'd previously thought.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Death by cero . . . not something I'd want to experience . . .


	22. Chapter 22: Red Sky

_Chapter 22: Red Sky_

Toshiro was pacing. It annoyed him immensely but he didn't stop until Kira Izuru, Lieutenant of the Third Division, walked into the room.

'Izuru?' the young captain turned and faced the melancholy looking man, 'What is it?'

'I was asked by someone from the Department of Research and Development to tell you that around two hundred menos grande have trapped the five shinigami sent out to fight them. The person who told me to deliver this message also said that the chances of most of the shinigami surviving are slim. He suspected that only Captain Kenpachi and possibly Kurosaki Ichigo might make it out alive,' no wonder the Lieutenant had a low self-esteem if he was asked to deliver messaged like that. Most people would yell at him and blame him for delivering a message like he was asked.

As it was, Toshiro was having a hard time believing the blonde man. Matsumoto had said that she was going on a quick mission to the Rukongai to finish off a few menos grande and then be back for lunch. It was midday now and he'd been wondering why she hadn't returned yet.

'Two hundred?' he said absently, still trying to sort out his thoughts.

'No, one hundred and eighty,' Izuru held up a small black device, then he blinked and corrected himself self-consciously, 'One hundred and seventy-seven. No, wait, seventy-six,'

He looked like he was about to speak again but Toshiro interrupted him, 'Thank you, Izuru,'

Nodding, the man turned and left, eyes still locked on the device he was holding. Toshiro decided that, once again, all he could do was finish off his reports and then wait.

* * *

><p>Kurayami looked up as she sensed multitudes of menos grande entering the Soul Society through a concealed Garganta. When she sensed the reiatsu of five shinigami directly in the path of the massive Hollows, she stood up and turned to face that direction. The fearsome reiatsu of Kenpachi Zaraki suddenly departed from the Seireitei and into east Rukongai.<p>

Closing her eyes, Kurayami opened some of the mental barrier that removed the Hollow part of herself from her mind. Unlike Kurosaki or the Visoreds she knew lived in the World of the Living, she had no Inner Hollow that needed to be controlled for fear of it taking over her body. Instead, she _was _a Hollow, albeit without a mask or Hollow hole.

Blood red eyes flicked open and the lithe form vanished from Sogyoku Hill.

* * *

><p>Ichigo stared transfixed as each menos grande charged its cero. For some reason, the blasts of vicious energy were taking a very long time to fire, which served only to increase the discomfort of the shinigami trapped inside the tree circle.<p>

The air seemed red and everyone waited in horrified anticipation, ready to be fried to crisps.

Standing near Ikkaku and Yumichika, Zaraki looked around. He decided that, despite the fact that a hundred and something ceros were being aimed at the general area around him, he wasn't actually in any danger of being killed. After all, if worst came to worst, he could always remove his eye patch and release his full reiatsu. That would surely be ample enough to deflect some energy blasts from some overgrown Hollows.

'Just hurry up and shoot,' somehow, Renji had taken on a personality much like Kira Izuru's and was sitting on the ground with his head in his hands and shaking fearfully, wailing miserably. No one remembered to point out that his bankai could be used as a shield.

Matsumoto found herself wishing she'd brought more clothes when she was in the World of the Living, and tried more food. Then her thoughts turned more serious as she recalled her greatest regrets.

Ikkaku was sad that he wouldn't get to fight any more, but he was glad that he would, at least, die by Zaraki's side.

Yumichika was contemplating whether or not this was a beautiful way to die. Indeed, the trees and slightly charred grass made for quite the pretty picture, but, when he thought about how he'd look after being burnt with more than a hundred ceros, he frowned.

_Being reduced to a substance less than ash and then swept away by the wind, _he pondered mournfully, _Actually, _his expression brightened, _That sounds quite poetic._

Lost in their own thoughts, it took all six shinigami a moment to register the appearance of a lone figure in the red sky above them.

* * *

><p>'Toshiro!' Momo ran through the door and into his office, skidding to a halt in front of the startled captain's desk. Taking a few deep breaths, the Fifth Division's Lieutenant moved aside to lean against one of the bookshelves.<p>

'What is it, Hinamori?' the white haired captain looked over at her, assuming this had something to do with the menos grande.

'Come,' she gasped, 'With me,'

Not waiting for a reply, the girl grabbed the sleeve of Toshiro's shihakusho and dragged him out of the room.

Several moments later, she was pulling him over the rooftops, heading for the Sogyoku Hill.

'Hurry!' Momo urged her childhood friend, worried that they wouldn't make it in time.

Toshiro realised how serious Hinamori was so he grasped her wrist before using his more advanced shunpo to take them to the top of the Hill.

'See!' Momo wasted to time in pointing east, 'You can see it from here,'

Toshiro looked.

From where they were, there was a surprisingly clear view of eastern Rukongai. Keen turquoise eyes easily picked up the sphere of red that was growing between the black forms of the menos grande.

_So that's where they're trapped, _he thought, staying calm with a slight effort, _I should have gone too._

As if sensing his thoughts, Momo sighed in a relieved way, 'I'm glad you didn't go, Shiro-chan! I don't know what I would have done if you'd died,' her eyes watered slightly, 'As it is, I hope Rangiku will be alright,'

Toshiro was silent for a moment, and then he sighed as if something annoyed him. Momo's head snapped around and she immediately asked what was wrong, adding that she was going to keep calling him 'Shiro-chan' whether he liked it or not.

'Hinamori,' his tone was patronising, 'It'd take more than that to kill a cat,'

The girl couldn't help but giggle at the reference to Rangiku's zanpakuto, then she asked, 'What about a baboon and a snake?'

Remembering that Abarai was an old friend of Hinamori's, Toshiro glanced back at the circle of menos, briefly wondering what was taking their ceros so long to charge, then sighed again, 'I think it'd take more to kill one of them too,'

Momo smiled and clasped her hands tightly together, _Thank you Shiro-chan, _she thought. And she meant every word.

* * *

><p>Rukia had felt it when the first cero had been fired, but she knew that none of the small team who'd left to fight the menos were weak enough to be killed by a single shot. However, her attention was drawn to the distant fight as more of the massive Hollows began to charge their blasts.<p>

Orihime was chattering away about anything she could think of, eating a bun and staring avidly at the buildings they passed.

Suddenly, the girl turned, her burnt orange hair fanning out behind her, and realised that Rukia had stopped a few metres back, a complex expression on her face. Walking back to the petite shinigami, Orihime paused.

Rukia's eyes were slightly wider than usual and there was an intense glow to the blue purple colour, Orihime hardly heard her when she spoke, 'Ichigo,'

'Kurosaki-kun?' brown eyes widened, 'Is something wrong?'

'I'm sorry Orihime,' Rukia began running towards the centre of the Seireitei, 'I'll contact you again later!'

'Oh, okay,' the other girl wondered what was going on, but she didn't try to follow her friend.

* * *

><p>'Who <em>is<em> that?' Ikkaku asked, directing the question at no one in particular. Thoughts taken off dying, everyone looked upwards.

The person standing in the scarlet sky raised an arm, fingers moving slightly.

Because of the glow cast by the almost fully charged ceros, none of the shinigami could clearly work out who'd just arrived.

The menos grande raised their masked heads, ceros pulsing in their mouths.

There was a graceful flick of a delicate wrist.

Then all of the giant Hollows released their ceros, the combined strikes meeting in the air.

As a light rain of residue from the blasts fell down from the sky, singeing the grass slightly, the figure in the air fell forwards and dropped towards the ground.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Who saved everyone . . . and at what cost . . . ?


	23. Chapter 23: Let Her Sleep

_Chapter 23: Let Her Sleep_

Ichigo leapt forwards and extended his arms, catching the barely conscious shinigami.

His eyes widened in sudden recognition, 'Kurayami?'

Brown eyes now only ever so slightly shaded with red, focused on his face before closing.

'What did she do?' Matsumoto and the others ran over. Zaraki, thinking that if the arrancar shinigami had dropped out of the sky, then there would be no good reason to approach her as well as she wouldn't be able to give him a good fight if she was injured, just sat down on a rock.

'It looked like she absorbed all of the ceros,' Renji sheathed his zanpakuto.

Ikkaku was about to add something else, when Kurayami stood. Ichigo didn't fully draw back his arms just in case she fell again.

With a single shunpo, the black haired shinigami arrancar appeared in the sky again. There was a pause and then crimson light, a darker shade than the ceros of the menos grande, swept out from Kurayami's body. The masks of the remaining menos grande shattered with the force of the energy.

'Did she just shoot their ceros back at them?' Ichigo was reminded of Nel Tu – or Neliel Tu Oderschvank – and the arrancar's ability to absorb a cero through her mouth and then fire it back.

'No,' Yumichika, who appeared to have been watching more closely than the others, spoke in an interested tone, 'The ceros were absorbed into her body, reconstructed into a faster, more flexible power, and then re-released. That wasn't a cero,'

'Astonishing,' Rangiku murmured then she smiled as Ichigo jumped forwards to catch Kurayami's body yet again.

* * *

><p>On the Sogyoku Hill, Rukia, Momo and Toshiro watched with bated breath as the menos grande released their ceros.<p>

There was a paused and then Hinamori gasped as dark crimson light whipped through the Hollows, killing them instantly.

'What was that?' the astonished Lieutenant breathed.

'I don't know,' Rukia had forgotten who she was observing with so she spoke casually, eyes unblinking.

Sensing Matsumoto's reiatsu moving, Toshiro turned to leave, wondering what exactly had happened. Momo called out a goodbye and he raised his hand in response before using some quick shunpo to disappear from the Hill.

* * *

><p>When Matsumoto saw her captain's white haired head, she immediately called out, 'Captain!'<p>

Rangiku, Renji, Ichigo and the two Elevnth Division officers were nearing the Fourth Division's General Emergency Relief Station. Zaraki had left sometime before, disappointed that he still hadn't had the chance to fight the arrancar.

Toshiro turned and surveyed the group silently.

'I told you he'd be sorry to see you,' Ikkaku snickered, still cross at her for all her bald jokes.

'That's not very nice captain,' Matsumoto cooed, 'I thought we were going to surprise you!'

'You missed that opportunity,' the young captain crossed his arms, 'Someone from the Twelfth Division already informed me and the other captains and lieutenants that you'd all survived,' his eyes narrowed slightly, 'Although I don't see why you need to go to the Relief Station, none of you look that badly injured,'

Matsumoto turned around and Ichigo walked forward. Turquoise eyes widened unnoticeably as Toshiro took in Kurayami, leaning heavily against the orange haired shinigami's side, eyes barely open and skin even paler than usual, a hard white colour much like an arrancars.

Glancing at Rangiku, she met his gaze and understood the silent question.

'She absorbed the ceros and then fired them back as reconstructed energy,' the Lieutenant explained, 'But she's been like that,' she gestured at Kurayami, 'Ever since,'

'I see,' Toshiro turned and walked towards the Fourth Division, 'Then you'd better hurry,'

* * *

><p>'This type of damage,' Unohana touched a faintly glowing hand to Kurayami's forehead, 'Is quite difficult to remove,' she turned to face the waiting shinigami, 'The injury has affected her whole body. Damage this serious that is inflicted directly on the soul,' the woman closed her eyes and folded her hands before her, 'It will take a while to remove,'<p>

'Should we get Inoue to heal her?' Ichigo asked, knowing that sometimes his friend's rejection powers were more efficient than kido.

'Perhaps,' Unohana nodded, then she looked back at the shinigami lying on the medical bed, 'However, I am not going to administer any treatment until she is fully conscious,'

Ikkaku took one last look at the girl who saved their lives and then turned away, 'I'm leaving,'

Yumichika didn't hesitate to follow him, but he had a thoughtful expression on his face.

'Ichigo!' Rukia skidded past the exiting Eleventh Division members, then she bent over, hands resting on her knees as she tried to regain her breath.

'Rukia?' the substitute shinigami walked over to her, 'What is it?'

'Just,' she straightened, 'Come with me. The others want to talk to you,'

'Oh,' turning, Ichigo waved before leaving with his friend.

Matsumoto's eyes widened suddenly, 'Captain!'

Toshiro twitched, 'What?'

'I have to go!' she vanished only to appear at the door, 'Since I just survived something incredibly nerve wracking, I'm going drinking. See you later!'

The young captain had to sit down, he was so angry. Matsumoto really didn't think twice about going off to get drunk, despite what had happened the last time.

'Captain Hitsugaya?' Unohana's calm voice cut through has fury, 'I have to go and tend to some other patients,' she walked to the door, 'Would you be able to stay here and make sure her condition doesn't change? Call for someone if something happens,'

Toshiro didn't even get to reply before Unohana had vanished.

Sighing, he returned his gaze to Kurayami, just as her eyes opened fully.

* * *

><p>'Captain Hitsugaya?' trying to focus her blurred vision, Kurayami concentrated on drawing out some of her Hollow power and regenerated the damage to her eyes.<p>

Toshiro blinked, 'Yes?'

'Don't,' she turned to look at the door, 'Let anyone heal me,'

'What?' her answer was surprising, especially the distant way she said it.

'The reason any damage was taken to my soul, was because I had to absorb the part of the menos grande's ceros that was unnecessary in their defeat. In a normal circumstance, I would have just let that energy dissipate on its own, however, that would have meant causing damage to the Rukongai and the souls living there,' she turned back to face him, 'If I had fully Hollowfied, I could have absorbed many more of those blasts without any injury, or simply ordered them to stop. But I haven't done that in a while, and a full Hollow in the Soul Society is never a good thing,'

The young captain nodded, 'Are you going to regenerate yourself?'

'To utilise regeneration fully, I would need to Hollowfy,' she closed her eyes, 'But, even as a shinigami, that ability is present, just slower. All I need to do is sleep. There are other patients more worthy of Unohana's time,'

'Right,' standing, the white haired captain walked to the door and peered around the frame, gesturing for Isane.

'What is it, Captain Hitsugaya?' the shy woman asked.

Unohana suddenly appeared at her side, 'Would you let me handle this Isane?'

'Certainly, Captain!' the tall Lieutenant turned and hurried away.

'She woke up before and asked that she not be healed,' Toshiro spoke indifferently, 'Her Hollow regeneration is slightly present in her shinigami form and she asked that you heal other patients,'

'I see,' Unohana walked into the room, a kido light forming around her hand. Pressing her palm to Kurayami's forehead, and then her chest, the captain stepped back.

Turning to the other captain, she spoke calmly, 'She can sleep in peacefully now, I have sedated her. When she is healed, she will wake,'

Toshiro only nodded before turning and leaving.

* * *

><p>Ichigo had just finished recounting the whole story to his friends from the World of the Living, and Rukia, and he was getting uncomfortable with the silent stares he was receiving.<p>

Chad looked surprised and slightly impressed. Orihime looked awestruck. Rukia looked thoughtful. And Uryu looked interested – but then he turned to stare at the door with a now familiar paranoid look.

Ichigo couldn't help but think that, after the Winter War and everything involved with it, Uryu's tolerance to the mad scientist/shinigami captain would have grown. However, it really seemed to be the opposite and he really couldn't wait for the opportunity to tease the usually collected Quincy.

'Well I'm glad you're okay, Kurosaki-kun,' Orihime smiled, then she added, 'When Rukia took off towards the Sogyoku Hill, I wasn't sure what was going on, but still, everyone was really tense,'

'More than a hundred ceros?' Chad sounded unbelieving, 'What happened to her?'

'Damage to her soul form,' Rukia informed him, having already heard from Ichigo, 'It could take years for her to recover,' then she paused, 'But for some reason, I feel like she chose to take the injuries,'

Uryu turned back to face everyone else, 'We should be glad that she's not our enemy then,'

Everyone considered that and found they agreed entirely.

Then Chad voiced everyone's previously unspoken thought, 'But how do we know that?'

And no one could reply.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I can just imagine Orihime's expression . . . awestruck . . .


	24. Chapter 24: Memories of Snow

_Chapter 24: Memories of Snow_

The next night, after a busy day of surprisingly normal occurrences, Toshiro collapsed on the seat in his office and fell asleep.

A cold calm enveloped his mind and he blinked as he suddenly found himself in his Inner World. The great blue ice dragon of Hyrorinmaru descended from the sky and landed in front of him, sending out a pleasant rush of cold air. Huge crimson eyes met his and the dragon lowered his head.

_Master, _the greeting rumbled through Toshiro's mind, _It's been a while._

_Yes, _the young shinigami nodded, _That's right._

Leaning forwards, the dragon spread its wings, _It is good to see you._

As the spirit rose into the air, Toshiro heard more words, _Now dream, Master._

Immediately, Toshiro was floating in blackness and he turned, searching for anything that would save him, a feeling of despair clawing at his heart.

_Hyorinmaru! _the silent cry vanished into the dark.

Something cold touched his cheek and he held out his hand, watching as snowflakes fell gently from the sky. And, as the blackness vanished and revealed the lush green, yet snow dusted, fields of Junrinan, Toshiro allowed himself a small smile.

He loved the cold and ice – snow was no exception.

_It's been a very long time since I last saw snow in the Soul Society, _he thought.

In the World of the Living, he'd seen snow covering the apartment blocks and parks, people rugged up in thick jackets and warm hats. But it hadn't snowed in the Soul Society in so many years, and he missed that.

_Hey, kid, _Toshiro spun around as someone called out, _What're you doing?_

It took him a moment to realise what was going on. He was reliving a memory, one that was decades old – before he'd become a captain, or even a shinigami.

Turquoise eyes widened slightly as a younger Matsumoto ran towards him. He was about to jump out of her path when she suddenly passed straight through him. Turning again, Toshiro saw himself sitting on the ground, staring intently at the clouds.

He could remember how Matsumoto had tried to take him back inside and how he'd run away and hidden from her in a small cave where he liked to go sometimes. The snow had begun falling in earnest and he hadn't been able to return to Granny's house until the next day. Momo had been there and she'd scolded him in the way she always did and, once again, told him all about the Shino Academy. And Aizen.

The peaceful scene of Junrinan vanished and was replaced by a dark cave. Realising immediately where he was, he spun around, watching as both he and Kusaka Sojiro learnt Hyorinmaru's name and the twin zanpakuto materialised in their raised hands.

A feeling of peace washed over him as he remembered how they'd finally finished their fight, along with a very slight lingering feeling of regret.

The day after they'd gained Hyorinmaru, it had snowed in the Soul Society. But that was a long time ago, and it hadn't snowed since.

Once again, the scene changed and he was on the Sogyoku Hill. Sleet rained down in an almost horizontal wall and Toshiro was slightly glad that he didn't seem to be made of anything in this dream or else it'd be rather painful.

_Don't you wish it would snow, Captain?_ Matsumoto's voice was thoughtful.

_Of course, _he heard his own voice and realised that this was still a way in the past.

_I, _Rangiku sounded like she had when he'd found her reading that Third Division report, _Do too._

Toshiro sighed as the memory was swept away once again and he slid deeper into sleep.

* * *

><p>Rangiku was sitting on her bed and staring at the roof, knowing that her captain was probably asleep by now. She hadn't touched the small cup of sake on the low table beside her, and she wasn't planning to unless she had a nightmare. It was an unbreakable habit, even though her dreams had been peaceful for the last few months.<p>

Sighing heavily, the Lieutenant lay down and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep.

_It's cold, _Rangiku realised she was in one of the houses she'd lived in with Ichimaru Gin when they were much younger, and that the person speaking was her.

Sitting up from the snow covered ground, the Lieutenant turned to peer through the slightly open door. She saw herself sitting under a thin blanket, Gin by her side.

_Really? _the young Gin passed her his blanket and moved closer to her, _I'm sorry Rangiku._

Staring at the young boy, Matsumoto stood up, brushing snow from her shihakusho, and turned away. The memory of Gin's defeat at the hands of Aizen was still fresh in her mind and she recalled her childhood friend – Captain Ichimaru Gin of the Third Division, a shinigami who intimidated many with just his constant grin. He'd betrayed the Soul Society with Aizen and fought against them in the Winter War.

She could hardly believe he was gone sometimes, although she had had to move on with her life, and forget the sight of his fallen body, one arm ripped away, chest slashed and stabbed.

As she took a step away from the ramshackle building, the memory of Gin, as a boy, walking away without telling her where he was going, surfaced in her mind and she blinked quickly. The snow swirled around her.

So caught up in her own thoughts, Rangiku hardly noticed when the scene around her changed and she was in Junrinan. Again, the air was chilly and a few odd flakes of snow would drift down occasionally, joining the thin layer already on the ground.

Looking around, she saw herself, now a shinigami, dragging a young Toshiro towards a small house. The white haired boy was struggling futilely against her iron grip until he spun around and twisted her arm. She smiled fondly as she watched herself release Toshiro and then grinned as he raced in the opposite direction.

_Hey you!_ shoulders slumped as the younger Rangiku gave up, and the shinigami turned and walked into the small house, presumably to tell Granny what had happened.

Rangiku started laughing at the lightness of the scene and chose to forget the dream scene before it.

Then she gasped as the world spun and she was watching Gin finishing his fight with her captain. That event had been a while ago too, when Ichigo and his friends had broken into the Seireitei to rescue Rukia, and Aizen had made his first major move.

Instead of watching herself as she arrived to stop the Third Division captain killing Momo, Rangiku jumped up onto the roof and reached out, tears forming in her eyes as her hand went through Gin's shoulder.

_Gin, _she thought as she withdrew her hand, staring at her fingers, _You were the first person to be kind to me. And, by leaving me nothing to remember you by, you thought I would be able to move onwards. And I have, _she smiled at him sorrowfully, _But these memories can't be erased as easily as physical objects._

Rangiku's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright, grasping the cup of sake with her left hand and downing it in one swallow.

'I haven't dreamt about you in years, even before you died,' the Lieutenant turned to stare out her window, speaking aloud without realising it, 'Why have you come back to haunt me now, Gin?' she paused, 'I thought you wanted me to forget about you,'

* * *

><p>Toshiro stood, smoothing down his shihakusho carefully, and walked across to the window, staring out thoughtfully. He realised that the room was covered in a thin layer of frost and that the temperature was refreshingly cold.<p>

Looking up at the cloudless black sky that highlighted the bright moon, the white haired captain spoke pensively, 'It snowed in the past, but when will snow fall in the present?'

And then he turned and left the office.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

So now the title takes on some meaning . . . I'm happy


	25. Chapter 25: Hole in the Sky

_Chapter 25: Hole in the Sky_

As the dawn light filtered through a small window, Ichigo and his friends walked into Kurayami's room at the Relief Station.

'She's been like that for five days,' Rukia peered at Kurayami's unconscious form, 'It's been five full days since she was hit by those ceros,'

'Your point?' Renji leaned back in his chair, raising his eyebrows.

Ichigo and Orihime just stared at Kurayami silently, waiting for Rukia's answer. Uryu walked back from glancing around the doorway and sat on a chair near Renji's. Chad just stood leaning against one wall and surveyed everyone carefully.

'I don't know,' Rukia sighed, 'It just feels like something's wrong,'

'Well if it is,' Ichigo sounded sad, 'Then there's nothing we can do,'

Orihime gasped and glanced at him, 'You're seriously not going to let me heal her? What if she stays like that forever?'

'Toshiro said that, due to her arrancar status, she can regenerate herself as she sleeps,' Ichigo turned to the door, 'So there _really _isn't anything we can do. Besides,' he turned back and smiled at his still unmoving friends, 'She isn't weak,'

'You're right,' Renji stood and stretched, 'Let's go,' he began walking towards Ichigo, 'Standing around here like a dark cloud isn't going to give her a positive environment to heal in,'

Laughing, Rukia followed the two out of the room, the others trailing behind her.

* * *

><p>Toshiro glanced at Matsumoto again. The Lieutenant was stretched out on the couch and she was reading over that same paper from the other day. In the last few days, she'd been melancholy and lacked her usual insuppressible cheer and mischievousness.<p>

'Matsumoto,' the woman looked up, 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing Captain,' her smile didn't reach her eyes, 'Don't worry about me,'

'It's a captain's job to worry about his subordinates,' Toshiro sighed as he put aside a stack of finished documents.

'Really,' Matsumoto blinked at him with false innocence, 'I'm absolutely fine!'

The young captain didn't believe her for a second but he just nodded and picked up his brush again.

* * *

><p>Rangiku was trying as hard as possible not to draw her captain's attention to herself. If he knew that she was losing sleep over the traitor, Ichimaru Gin, then she'd never hear the end of it. Her eyes trailed over the document she'd stolen from the Third Division offices, tracing each character written in Gin's distinctive hand.<p>

The Lieutenant knew that it was foolish worrying about such things, the past was the past and she was better off focusing on the future or even the present, but she couldn't help herself.

'Captain,' she stood up, 'Would it be okay for me to go out for a bit?'

Toshiro was instantly suspicious, 'You never normally ask,'

Matsumoto winced inwardly, realising her mistake, turning to face the young captain, she winked at him, 'Does it worry you?' laughing, she skipped over to the door, 'See you later,'

For several seconds after Matsumoto had vanished, Toshiro stared at the empty doorway, trying to figure out what was bothering his Lieutenant. Standing, he walked over to where a piece of paper was lying on the ground.

As he picked it up, Toshiro's eyes widened as he realised that it was the one Matsumoto had been reading.

_Captain Ichimau Gin, Third Division  
><em>_Report on recent mission_

The captain's hand crushed the paper as his muscles clenched in fury. It took Toshiro a moment to control his reiatsu and calm his mind.

_So I'm not the only one who's been thinking about the past lately, _he mused as he disposed of the document, _Matsumoto, why're you suddenly remembering _him.

* * *

><p>Ukitake glanced out his window as he sat up, deciding he felt a lot better than he had previously, and sighed deeply. There was something in the air that made him feel like something was about to happen, a large and presumably unpleasant something.<p>

Standing carefully, the white haired captain moved towards the door and looked out, wondering where his Third Seats were.

The man suddenly noticed Kuchiki Rukia walking towards his peaceful house, an intense look on her face.

_She can feel it too, _the captain considered his subordinate, _But I'd bet almost everything that she hasn't shared her thoughts with any of her friends._

'Kuchiki!" he called out in his friendly way, 'Come over here!'

With a few quick shunpo, Rukia arrived before her captain, bowing deeply.

'Don't be so formal, I know there's something you want to talk to me about,' as they walked inside, Jushiro tried to make Rukia relax.

'I'm sorry for taking up your time, Captain,' Rukia spoke politely, 'It's just,' she paused and looked away, 'I feel like something bad is going to happen to the Soul Society,' she seemed embarrassed, 'Although nothing has happened since Kuromi was found to be an ally, and that reiatsu hasn't been detected again,' she trailed off.

'I understand,' Ukitake smiled at her astonished expression, 'I've been feeling the exact same way,' the man's fingers brushed the hilt of his zanpakuto, 'So let's agree to stay on guard, just in case,'

Rukia couldn't help but feel incredibly glad that Ukitake was her captain. She bowed again, 'Thank you, Captain,'

'Now,' Jushiro stood and walked over to a side table, 'Let's have some tea,'

* * *

><p>As Toshiro moved through the Seireitei, seemingly aimlessly, he paused on the roof of the Fourth Division. Jumping down, the young captain entered the Relief Station and walked to Kurayami's room.<p>

Like any other time he'd come, which wasn't that many, the arrancar shinigami was sleeping. However, he saw her clenched fist and assumed that whatever she was dreaming about wasn't entirely pleasant.

'As you can see,' Unohana's voice startled him but he refrained from jumping, 'The sedative kido I placed on her has vanished and she's sleeping normally,' her tone turned pitying, 'And when you sleep, you dream,'

'Do you think she'll wake?' the young captain surveyed Unohana's warm eyes closely.

'I have no doubt,' she smiled, 'But I cannot say when. Many seasons may pass before she opens her eyes again,' she turned away, 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I think Isane is looking for me,'

'Of course,' Toshiro nodded to her and then, once she'd gone, walked into the room.

_You said you could regenerate yourself if you slept, _he thought, _And Unohana said that her kido would break once you healed. So why are you still sleeping?_

Realising that he was just standing in the room doing nothing, Toshiro turned to go when a massive amount of reiatsu filled the air.

Turquoise eyes widening, the captain raced out of the building and jumped onto the roof, turning to face the origin of the spiritual pressure.

Sogyoku Hill.

But it wasn't the landform itself, but the massive Garganta that was slowly opening up in the air above it.

As Toshiro watched, the masks of thousands of Hollows pushed through the gaps that formed and the creatures emerged.

Then, as the first menos grande stepped out of the now half open gate, every single shinigami in the Seireitei turned to stare at the hole in the sky.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

And now everything _really _starts moving . . .  
>To anyone who's been nice enough to read even this far, thank you!<p> 


	26. Chapter 26: Invasion

_Chapter 26: Invasion_

The amount of reiatsu in the air didn't make sense. There were only lesser Hollows and a few menos grande pushing into the Seireitei. Consequently, Toshiro decided that there must be _a lot _of those Hollows up there.

The Garganta he'd sealed off with Kurayami had been huge, but the one opening now couldn't be compared to it. For a few hundred metres, the line was cracking open the sky, and he'd bet that it was around a hundred metres high once it had opened.

'Captain!' Matsumoto appeared, 'What's going on?'

'I don't know,' Toshiro's frown deepened.

Suddenly the warning bells rang out and everything erupted into chaos. As shinigami after shinigami ran past them, back to their Division offices to receive their orders, the white haired captain beckoned for Matsumoto to follow him and then used shunpo to vanish.

Seconds later, they were standing outside the Fist Division barracks.

'Matsumoto,' the captain's voice was calm, 'Go back to the Tenth Division and keep everyone under control,'

'Yes Captain,' Rangiku took one last glance at the small shingami who was her captain and then vanished.

'Captain Hitsugaya,' Toshiro turned to watch the Head Captain and his Lieutenant exit the First Division offices, 'What do you require?'

'Orders,' Toshiro's gaze flicked to the Sogyoky Hill were already hundreds of Hollows were peering over the edge, some just about ready to test their wings.

'I see,' Head Captain Yamamoto's eyes opened slightly, 'Mobilise all forces in the Tenth Division, this is a full scale invasion. I am about to notify all captains on the current circumstances,'

'Right,' Toshiro turned and used rapid shunpo to return to the Tenth Division.

As he arrived, the Head Captain's voice reverberated through the air.

'Attention all Captains, Lieutenants and members of the Thirteen Protection Squads, this is a full scale invasion of the Soul Society. Captains, bring twenty members of your Division to the Sogyuku Hill. Everyone else _must _stay to guard the Rukongai and the rest of the Seireitei!'

Matsumoto appeared, 'Everyone's ready and I've selected a team,'

'They better be good,' Toshiro sighed and hurried into the barracks where his Division was assembled.

* * *

><p>'A full scale invasion?' Rukia's eyes widened, 'That Garganta must be huge,'<p>

She set down her tea and looked upwards to stare at her Captain's drawn face. Ukitake stood and instantly began moving towards the Thirteenth Division barracks, Kiyone and Sentaro appearing behind him as he called out to Rukia.

As the shinigami stood to follow, Ichigo and his group ran around the street corner, almost colliding with the other three.

'Ichigo!' Rukia used shunpo to arrive at the almost accident scene, 'Come on,'

Jushiro didn't try to stop his subordinate as she left with Ichigo and his friends, he knew that she'd probably be safer with them anyway, as she trusted them.

Then he turned his attention to his Division.

* * *

><p>Unohana's head was raised, her eyes on the ceiling of the Relief Station, as she listened to the Head Captain's message. Her eyes widened slightly as the reiatsu in the air thickened again and she was very concerned about the casualties that would occur if too many Hollows broke through.<p>

Looking back down at the figure on the bed before her, her gaze turned pitying and she sighed before leaving.

_The poor girl, _she thought as she watched Isane hurrying towards her, _She should have woken already._

'Captain,' her Lieutenant was slightly out of breath, 'You would've heard about the emergency?' Unohana nodded, 'I've organised everyone,' the tall girl's brow tightened, 'So now we're just waiting for the injured to arrive,'

Unohana's smile was sad, 'We won't be waiting too long. Go, Isane. Prepare yourself,'

What the kind captain didn't tell her Lieutenant, was that she believed this attack had the potential to destroy the Soul Society, and with it, the Balance of Souls.

It just felt like too many Hollows were leaving Hueco Mundo, and if they were all killed, then the outcome would be just as bad as if all the shinigami and plus souls in the Rukongai were killed. It was like the two worlds, the world of shinigami, and the world of Hollows, had been joined in a way so wrong, that if something wasn't done, it really could mean the end of everything.

* * *

><p>On Sogyoku Hill, everything was a strangely quiet, writhing mass of Hollows. Some were jumping off and heading into the streets of the Seireitei, and others were taking to the air.<p>

A sudden gust of wind blew through, and then the captains, lieutenants and division members of the Thirteen Protection Squads appeared on the Hill. Already the sounds of fighting were blown up from below and each captain hoped that both their Division, and the others too, were strong enough to hold the Hollows back.

Head Captain Yamamoto looked up at the now fully opened hole in the sky and waited, just like all of the others.

No Hollows attacked them, they were just intent on getting to the ground to fight there, but they moved around the large group as if an invisible wall separated the two groups.

Toshiro turned as he sensed Ichigo nearing.

'Getsuga Tensho!' a red and black arc of energy sliced through a multitude of Hollows, then Ichigo and the others appeared.

Ichigo had released his bankai, but Rukia's sealed zanpakuto still rested at her waist. The orange haired boy jumped forwards and landed beside the white haired captain.

'What's going on?' Ichigo asked in a low voice.

'You would've heard the announcement,' Toshiro replied, 'Just wait now and see what happens,'

Suddenly, the reiatsu being released from the Garganta tripled.

'Something's coming,' Matsumoto's eyes were fixed to the middle of the massive hole.

An instant later, a human like figure walked from the swirling blackness of the Garganta to stand just at its edge. Everyone's eyes widened as thick, heavy and _gray _feelingreiatsu surrounded them.

'That's the same reiatsu as before,' Yumichika noted and no one had any trouble hearing him.

Kira Izuru looked up, blue eyes seeking out the form, and he watched as whoever it was stepped from the darkness and into the bright daylight of the Soul Society.

There was silence and then three voices sounded in unison.

Matsumoto and Toshiro shouted, 'Gin!'

And Izuru's eyes widened and he said, 'Ichimaru,' before going into a state of shock.

* * *

><p>The Sogyoku Hill was completely silent. The only Hollows remaining on it were menos grande who stayed at the other end, but more of the creatures were still pouring out of the Garganta and only the ground below.<p>

'Ichimaru Gin,' the Head Captain's voice was expressionless.

No one could mistake the figure of the former Third Division captain. If the way he folded his hands in his bell sleeved, white shihakusho wasn't enough, or the way he stood, then his grin certainly was.

None of the shinigami could believe that they hadn't recognised his reiatsu, especially the ones who went to the World of the Living. Especially Rangiku.

'Aren't ya'll so nice for comin' here to greet me,' the polite, indirect and mocking voice made everyone stiffen slightly, 'I'm touched,'

'Gin,' Toshiro growled under his breath, fury overriding his shock. Taking deep breaths, he calmed himself down and glanced at his Lieutenant.

Rangiku's eyes were wide and her mouth was still slightly ajar from her earlier shout, her whole body was thrumming with tension. Turning a little further, Toshiro's eyes fell on Momo. The Fifth Division Lieutenant was staring at Ichimaru, surprise and distrust shining in her eyes.

'How are you still alive?' Yamamoto's voice drew everyone's attention.

'Alive?' Gin began walking forwards slowly, 'Shouldn't ya be glad since I tried to kill Aizen?'

Toshiro took note of the former captain's appearance. The white, black rimmed shihakusho had deep sleeves and long coat that fell to his ankles, flaring out from his body slightly. The rest of his outfit was white, including his hakama, but he wore black tabi. The hilt of his zanpakuto, Shinso, could be seen poking out from his shihakusho. Toshiro realised that his overall appearance was almost identical to what it had been during the Winter War, maybe just a bit more form fitting.

When Gin spoke again, he returned his attention back to the shinigami, still standing in the sky, 'Surely at least one of ya missed me?' the tone was mournful, but his grin didn't disappear, 'Or did ya'll forget 'bout me?'

There was a rapid movement to Toshiro's left and he turned just in time to see Matsumoto leapt from the ground and race through the sky towards Gin.

'Matsumoto! Stop!'

Toshiro watched in frozen horror as Gin slid his zanpakuto from its sheath, realising that Matsumoto was so overcome by emotion that she didn't see his movement.

'Shoot to kill,' Gin raised his katana, pointing it at Matsumoto's chest, the Lieutenant's eyes widened, 'Shinso,'

All of the watching shinigami stared, transfixed, as the blade extended in a deadly arc towards Matsumoto Rangiku's heart.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I wonder . . . did anyone guess?


	27. Chapter 27: Battle Begins

_Chapter 27: Battle Begins_

Rangiku stared at the silver blade as it shot towards her, time seeming to slow as it neared her body. She looked up, staring at Gin's eyes, as usual, narrowed to slits.

How could he do this to her? He'd been away for so long, she'd thought he was dead. Why was he trying to kill her?

'Why?' her voice was barely audible.

A sudden blur of black startled the watching shinigami and Matsumoto was shoved roughly aside. There was a sudden burst of red, and blood rained down onto the dry ground of the Sogyoku Hill.

* * *

><p>Toshiro's eyes widened as he watched Shinso pierce Kurayami's chest. The arrancar shinigami had moved so fast to save his Lieutenant, but now Gin's blade had impaled her, although it appeared to have missed her heart.<p>

Obviously surprised with the sudden change of events, Gin's narrowed eyes opened, revealing the bright sky blue, and he took in the black haired figure on the end of his zanpakuto's extended blade.

The former captain's grin returned almost immediately, 'What do we have here?'

Kurayami raised her head, brown eyes showing only the slightest of crimson, and stared at him impassively.

'No matter,' grin widening, Gin pulled Shinso's hilt to one side, retracting the blade at the same time.

The shinigami down below could only stare as the zanpakuto left a ragged wound that stretched from the point on her chest where it had initially pierced, to above her right hip.

Momo almost cried out when she realised that she could see the sky through the wound that nearly cut the arrancar shinigami in half.

'Are ya dead?' Gin walked forwards again, still slow and leisurely, 'Cause ya should be,'

Matsumoto appeared back by her captain's side, a few drops of Kurayami's blood staining her cheek, 'I'm sorry captain,'

'Don't worry about that now,' Toshiro didn't turn away from staring at the sky, 'Just focus on the fight ahead,'

'Right,' determination coloured Rangiku's tone and she vowed to make up for her foolish mistake. However, it still tore at her heart that Gin hadn't hesitated in his attempt to kill her.

'Ichimaru,' the Head Captain spoke again, 'How are you alive?'

Gin turned his attention to the old man, 'Persistent, aren't ya,' he tilted his head to one side, 'My name's Ichimaru Gin, former captain of the Third Division,' he paused dramatically, 'And current king of Hueco Mundo,' his grin was menacing, 'It's nice to meet ya'll,'

* * *

><p><em>What! <em>Toshiro couldn't process what he'd just heard, _King of Hueco Mundo? But Gin's not a Hollow. _

Beside him, Matsumoto was frozen in shock, also unable to comprehend Gin's words. It seemed like every person on the Sogyoku Hill was in a state of intense uncertainty.

'Ichimaru,' the cool voice, expressionless as usual, returned everyone's attention to the sky, 'Is Espada Cero, the first and only member of the current Espada,' Kurayami stood up, still quite a fair distance from Gin, 'As such, he has superiority over all Hollows in Hueco Mundo,'

Toshiro wasn't sure what to be surprised about more – the fact that Kurayami was standing and apparently ignoring the gaping wound on her body, or that Gin really _was _a Hollow.

'Yer quite resilient, huh?' Gin tilted his head to one side, surveying the arrancar shinigami, 'And not a flicker of reiatsu,'

Kurayami straightened and stared at Ichimaru through her thin, jagged fringe. Brown eyes turned a bright crimson and suddenly the wound vanished from her body, fading away even as her shihakusho was restored.

'That's Hollow regeneration,' Gin – who was now an arrancar shinigami too, Toshiro supposed – commented. He sounded interested but no one trusted him in the slightest.

'You are a shinigami who has obtained the powers of a Vasto Lorde arrancar,' the slight coldness in Kurayami's voice dropped to iciness.

'Ya seem to know a lot 'bout me,' Ichimaru's grin widened, 'So why dontcha tell me what ya are?'

Toshiro suddenly sensed a deep sadness emanating from the black haired shinigami, but, from the looks on the other's faces, they couldn't feel it.

'I'm,' using an untraceable shunpo – or perhaps it should be referred to as sonido, as Kurayami was still Hollowfied to the extent that her irises were crimson – the arrancar shinigami appeared beside Gin, facing to opposite way, 'A Vasto Lorde arrancar,' she vanished again as he spun around, only to appear back where she'd been originally, 'And a shinigami,'

'Like me?' the mocking deepened in his tone.

'Not at all,' Toshiro sensed a change in her stance and then she was on the ground, standing near the Head Captain, 'Not in the slightest,'

* * *

><p>There was another pause, and then Kurayami turned, eyes their normal colour, and looked at Yamamoto.<p>

When she spoke, her voice was expressionless again, 'The Balance of Souls is in danger of being disrupted, if too many Hollows or shinigami die today,' she turned away again not finishing the statement.

'Division members,' Yamamoto addressed the gathered group, 'The fight begins now! Disable the Hollows, but don't attempt to attack Ichimaru,'

The different Division members all used shunpo to move rapidly towards the menos grande, or the masses of Hollows still emerging from the Garganta.

Once they were gone and it was only the Captains, Lieutenants, Ichigo and his friends, and Rukia, Ikkaku and Yumichika, Yamamoto spoke again.

'You all know the price if we fail today,' then he nodded, 'Go, but remember, only captains should approach Ichimaru,'

'Yes sir!' spinning around, it was all too easy to find a fight to take part in, and that was what they did.

Toshiro was about to speak to Matsumoto when twelve arrancar appeared around the whole group. Remembering what Kurayami had said about there not being any more dangerous adjuchas, these Hollows were either gillian or adjuchas class arrancar. Just because there wasn't any more dangerous adjuchas, that didn't mean there wasn't any arrancar adjuchas.

Zaraki, Ikkaku and Yumichika immediately engaged in fights, their laughter sounding odd considering the circumstances. Then the other Lieutenants moved out, along with most of the captains.

* * *

><p>Byakuya observed Rukia, standing at Ichigo's back, carefully before deciding that she probably wouldn't die in this fight, however, as he released his shikai, he made sure some of the blade fragments remained around her, albeit invisible, just in case.<p>

Yamamoto, Komamura and their Lieutenants had left to aid in protecting the Rukongai, along with half of the mixed Division forces. Komamura shooting one last glare at Gin before vanishing with a quick shunpo.

Soifon whirled around to face the nearest arrancar to her and smirked at its weak, small appearance. She stepped forwards, using her fast shunpo to appear behind the Hollow, her arm around its neck.

She spoke into what appeared to be its ear, 'Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi,'

As her zanpakuto was released, the arrancar vanished from her grip only to appear behind her, silently slicing down with a short katana. The Second Division captain turned and jumped out of the way, effectively dodging the strike, before attacking her opponent again.

Toshiro realised that, apart from Unohana, who would be tending to the wounded already, Kurotsuchi was also absent. Sometimes the shinigami's research became more important than _anything_.

Kyoraku and Ukitake stood beside each other, easily fending off random Hollow attacks with their unreleased zanpakuto.

'Shouldn't we be focusing on him?' Jushiro asked worriedly, referring to Gin who was standing lazily in the sky, watching everything going on down below.

'Nope, leave him,' Shunsui spoke calmly, 'That's not our fight,'

'Right,' the white haired man's eyes shone with determination, 'Our job is to protect the Soul Society, not deal with dangerous supposedly dead invaders like Ichimaru,'

'Uh,' Shunsui was slightly lost, 'Something like that,'

* * *

><p>After only a few moments, Matsumoto and Toshiro were the only two shinigami not doing anything.<p>

'Come on Matsumoto,' Toshiro's eyes were on Gin, 'Let's go,'

'Yes,' Rangiku unsheathed her zanpakuto and got ready to jump upwards, her eyes no longer confused of surprised. She was a Lieutenant in one of the Thirteen Protection Squads so she couldn't let her personal feelings jeopardise the safety of the Soul Society.

_Gin, _she thought quietly, _I'm sorry._

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I'm sorry if things get a little jumpy for a while . . . the focus will return to one short, white haired captain though


	28. Chapter 28: Hollowfy

_Chapter 28: Hollowfy_

Kurayami watched Gin as he surveyed the battle below, her almost crimson eyes noting his every move. The silver haired man turned to her, narrowed eyes exposing nothing, and grin still constant.

'Aren't ya gonna attack me?' he mocked her faintly, fingers trailing over Shinso's hilt.

'You're not mine to kill,' she vanished from where she'd been standing, appearing behind him in an instant, 'If you were,' he barely drew his zanpakuto in time to block the would be killing strike of her hand, 'You'd already be dead,'

'That's kinda mean,' he jumped away from her, landing several metres back, 'I wasn't ready for an attack like that,'

Kurayami didn't reply, but her own eyes narrowed slightly.

'Gin!' Matsumoto's voice rung out seconds before a cloud of ash coated the grinning arrancar shinigami.

'Ya seem to have caught me, Rangiku,' his words were similar to when he, Tosen and Aizen had left the Soul Society to go to Hueco Mundo.

The Lieutenant didn't speak, she just pulled sharply on the hilt of her zanpakuto.

There was a splattering of blood and then the ash cleared, leaving a slashed Gin standing before them.

'Yer determination hasn't changed,' he raised a hand to his head, touched his bloodied face, 'But yer gonna have to do better than that,'

Gray and white pooled in his hand and a Hollow mask formed over his face. It covered only his left eye, reaching above his head slightly, and was shaped in a mix between a fox and a snake.

Instantly, any injury or tear to his clothing faded and then he let the mask dissipate.

'Ya gonna stand there all day?' Gin sounded faintly smug, 'Ya shouldn't give me opportunities like this,'

Once again Matsumoto found Shinso's blade shooting towards her, her eyes narrowed, 'Heineko!'

The ash spun round in front of her, stopping the strike. However, as Gin applied more pressure to the blade, the tip began to emerge. Rangiku's eyes widened as Heineko's ash blew apart. Jumping out of the way to avoid the strike, she used shunpo to retreat to where her captain was standing, near Kurayami.

'I'd say the force of his strike has increased,' Rangiku commented, knowing, from experience, just how hard Gin could press on his zanpakuto.

'It would have,' Kurayami spoke suddenly, 'After all, he's gained a new power now,'

'You could kill him easily, right?' Matsumoto was curious, after all, she'd seen how easily the black haired arrancar shinigami had got behind Gin.

'Kill him, yes. Easily, maybe not so much if he Hollowfies,' brown eyes met blue ones, 'But this isn't my fight. The duty of the Thirteen Protection Squads is to protect the Balance of Souls, and, as such, Ichimaru's elimination is necessary. I do not belong to any Division, and never have, so what right do I have to interfere with events in the Seireitei?' her gaze hardened, 'However, if we were in Hueco Mundo, I would not hesitate to kill him,'

'I see,' Rangiku wasn't sure anyone understood the extent of Kurayami's power. She'd obviously been a Vasto Lorde arrancar for longer than Gin, and her powers even as a shinigami seemed to be at an average captain's level, or even above.

'But will you fight him?' Toshiro asked after listening to the conversation silently, 'Fight Gin?'

'Of course,' the faintest trace of a smile touched her lips and even Matsumoto, self-obsessed as she could be, recognised how stunning the black haired girl would look if she actually finished the movement.

Toshiro turned to face Gin, shifting the focus of his attention, and drew Hyorinmaru.

* * *

><p>Rukia sensed the reiatsu of both Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto surge and assumed that they'd begun fighting Gin. Her hands, clutched around the hilt of her katana, were shaking ever so slightly. Ichimaru had always terrified her with the way he talked, moved and his constant smile.<p>

However, she couldn't let herself be distracted. Frowning, the shinigami ran another Hollow through, gaining a light scratch to her cheek as a result of her carelessness.

Ichigo spun around, 'Are you okay?'

Rukia, all fear forgotten, glared at the suddenly distracted substitute shinigami, 'I can't believe how low you've fallen, saviour of the world,' she smirked, 'Unless you're blind, you should be able to tell that that Hollow only _scratched me_!' she shouted the last two words.

'Hey! I was just being nice!' Ichigo protested, glaring right back.

'Nice?' Rukia half shrieked, completely forgetting the fact that Gin had led an army of Hollows to most probably destroy the Soul Society, and that they were in the middle of a battle.

'Yeah!' Ichigo had, apparently, forgotten too.

* * *

><p>Looking over at the pair, Byakuya tried not to think about the consequences of such arguments.<br>_If Kurosaki gets Rukia killed_, he ran a Hollow through absently, _Then I won't just be able to let the matter lie. That boy, well, you wouldn't guess he was instrumental in the Winter War. He seems to have developed a strange personality quirk that makes him, _the stoic shinigami sniffed as he cut another Hollow in two, _Unintelligent. _

Thinking about it, Byakuya realised that Ichigo had never come across as being amazingly smart, although records stated that he got good grades at school, but he always seemed to manage to save the day. Also, he'd always argued with Rukia, and actions such as attacking Kurayami just because he'd thought she was going to attack Rukia, were common too.

_I correct myself, _two more Hollows greeted Senbonzakura's petal like blades, _That has always been in his personality. It seems that, for some reason, it's just magnified a bit at the moment._

Still considering Ichigo and Rukia, Byakuya continued directing the deadly blades of his zanpakuto at the Hollows, finally coming face to face with an arrancar.

* * *

><p>'Who wants to go first?' Gin grinned and leaned forward slightly, 'How 'bout Rangiku?'<p>

The Lieutenant frowned but swung her zanpakuto's hilt, curling the ash around Gin again. Toshiro felt a sudden burst of reiatsu and every single particle of Heineko's blade was blown away.

'Hmm, maybe we'll get Hitsugaya to start,' Ichimaru stood straight and looked at the short captain, ignoring Matsumoto completely, 'Or this ain't gonna be hard at all,'

Rangiku glared at her old friend, furious of his casual dismissal of her abilities. As a captain, Gin had been more formal, but he was always as nice as someone with his distant personality could be, offering her some of the dried persimmons he made or remembering his birthday. But now, she wasn't sure what to think. Perhaps becoming a king of Hollows had warped his mind slightly, or maybe it was because of the brutal way Aizen had tried to kill him. Either way, she found it slightly easier to attack the man.

'C'mon,' Gin's tone was almost patronising, 'Ya don't wanna make me wait,'

Toshiro glared at him, turquoise eyes burning, 'Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru,'

Immediately he swung the zanpakuto, sending an ice dragon hurtling towards Gin. As the silver haired man raised his blade to stop it, Toshiro used shunpo to get closer to him before swinging the chain attached to Hyorinmaru's hilt at him.

As Shinso shot towards the dragon, Gin raised his other hand and grasped the crescent on the end of the chain effortlessly, 'Ya shouldn't try the same thing twice,'

Toshiro turned abruptly, raising Hyorinmaru to block the extended blade of Shinso, 'Don't worry, it wasn't the same,'

Gin's grin lessened slightly as he tried to work out what had changed. As Toshiro jumped away from Shinso, he slashed the air with his zanpakuto. The ice that had begun falling when the dragon was destroyed immediately rose and shot towards the now definitely surprised Gin.

Shinso retracted instantly and the arrancar shinigami slashed away all the ice daggers.

'Impressive,' he commented, shaking ice from the now short blade.

'Gin,' Toshiro paused, looking at the man, 'When did you get arrancar powers?'

'A while after gettin' to Hueco Mundo,' Ichimaru grinned, 'Tosen got Hollow powers, so ya would expect Aizen to have given them to me too,' he tapped Shinso on his palm, 'Actually, he didn't. Aizen didn't know 'bout my Hollow powers,'

'What?' Toshiro's eyes widened in surprise and he stared.

'When Aizen tried to kill me,' Gin seemed completely relaxed, 'I had to wait 'til he left before Hollowfyin' and regeneratin',' he turned to Matsumoto, 'It was a good thing you left else I mightn't have had enough time left,'

'How could Aizen not know?' Matsumoto sounded shocked, and she tried not to think about Gin's last comment.

'Cause he was busy,' the simple comment had a strange ring of truth to it.

Kurayami suddenly appeared beside Gin, only a step away, she spoke impassively, 'Did you think no one knew about your Hollowfication?'

'Of course,' Gin's narrowed eyes opened ever so slightly, but this time the blue remained hidden, 'Why?'

'Actually,' Kurayami turned around and began walking towards Toshiro and Rangiku, 'I knew. I sensed the change in your reiatsu as soon as you gained that power,' she turned slightly, surveying him through the thicker hair over her left eye, 'Did you really think nobody would notice?'

Gin didn't speak, but Shinso extended in his hands.

Kurayami didn't even try to dodge, but it made no difference as, when the tip of the blade met her back, it stopped its path of extension.

Toshiro's eyes widened as he realised that, with her hierro and strength, she managed to stop Gin's blade without being pushed forwards one bit.

'Ichimaru,' turning, she grasped the blade with her hand, 'Did you develop your hierro?'

Shinso suddenly retracted and, due to Kurayami's hold on the blade, Gin was drawn forwards.

As the sealed Sode no Kurayuki pierced his stomach, Gin almost winced in pain, but knew that even an injury like this wouldn't kill him. He'd already seen the powers of high speed regeneration when the girl who'd just stabbed him had healed the massive would he'd dealt to her.

Kurayami slashed sideways and removed her blade from Ichimaru's body, flicking it clean and sheathing it. Rangiku noticed that not a single drop of blood fell onto her shihakusho.

Gin straightened and opened his eyes slightly, sclera going black and irises gray, as the wound healed seamlessly, 'Ya're one cruel kid,' he commented lightly, grin not faltering once.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Bear with me . . . we're not finished yet


	29. Chapter 29: Calculating

_Chapter 29: Calculating_

Toshiro couldn't work out why Kurayami had attacked Gin in that way, asking him about his hierro. Then he realised that she was probably showing them the thickness of Gin's arrancar skin. Turning to Matsumoto he told her what he suspected, although it would probably still be harder for _them_ to cut him.

As the white haired captain spoke to his Lieutenant, he was aware of the slight pain in her eyes as she watched Gin heal himself. Hoping that she wouldn't let her guard down, he too turned back to the fight.

'I'm probably older than you,' Kurayami walked away, coming to a stop by Toshiro, a few metres from Ichimaru.

'That's interestin',' Gin took note of the information and then he turned to Toshiro, 'Isn't it 'bout your turn again?'

The young captain glared at him coldly before rising again. Jumping forwards, he once again engaged Gin in battle.

* * *

><p>Soifon moved rapidly through the Hollows, disabling lesser ones and heavily injuring the stronger ones. She understood the need to refrain from killing too many Hollows, but it was hard going against her nature.<p>

A sudden flare of white drew her attention just as a rope like arm wrapped around her throat. As she raised her hand, Suzumebachi ready on her finger, another arm curled around her wrist, preventing her from using her zanpakuto.

The captain was about to activate shunko, despite knowing that it might blow some of the Lieutenants fighting nearby away, when there was a flash of orange and purple and the Hollow vanished, sliced in half by a tanned hand.

'Yoruichi-sama!' the short shinigami fell forwards, off balance slightly, only to be caught by Yoruichi who glanced at her with golden eyes.

'Be more careful Soifon,' grinning suddenly, the former captain of the Second Division and commander of the Onmitsukido, added cheekily, 'Kisuke said you might be wanting some help and, although I knew you'd want him to come along instead, I left right away,'

'Yoruichi-sama!' Soifon was distressed, despite knowing that her mentor was only using that old story as a joke.

'Don't worry,' Yoruichi ruffled the shorter shinigami's hair, 'It's just a joke,'

Smiling, the purple haired woman activated her advanced shunko and ran forwards, jumping from the edge of the Sogyoku Hill and then landing in the middle of a mass of Hollows below. Soifon didn't hesitate in following.

* * *

><p>'Chad!' Ichigo slashed a path to get to his friend, 'Take Orihime to the Fourth Division barracks. Unohana should be able to keep her safe and get her work to do,'<p>

Orihime peeked out from behind the substiture shinigami, a few scratches on her but nothing serious.

'Okay,' Chad nodded and beckoned Orihime. The pair of them ran towards the stairs that led down the side of the Hill, Chad protecting Orihime from any attacks. Ichigo knew that, once the way was clear, Chad would probably use his fast movement to take Orihime to where she needed to go much quicker than if they ran.

Turning back to the fight, Ichigo almost jumped when he found Renji directly in front of him.

'What?' he yelped, jumping backwards, away from the red head.

'Get back here,' Renji sounded slightly puffed, 'Hurry up!'

Ichigo and the Sixth Division Lieutenant moved back to where Rukia and Uryu were fighting back to back, joining them in battling the arrancars.

Suddenly they saw ceros being charged and, for Ichigo and Renji, it was just like déjà vu.

There was a gentle wind coming from the left, and then suddenly four rows of glowing pink blades surrounded the three astonished shinigami and one surprised Quincy.

'Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi,' turning, all four pairs of eyes landed on Kuchiki Byakuya.

Rukia's blue purple gaze fell immediately to Byakuya's hand which was bleeding. By now she knew that this technique was activated by her brother's blood mixing with the blades of his bankai, but still, it hurt to see him injured, even if the wound was self-inflicted.

'Be more careful,' the wall of blades faded away and Senbonzakura returned to its sealed state. Then Byakuya used one of his impressive shunpo to vanish.

Ichigo tsked but he was glad of the man's intervention. Grinning confidently, he turned around again and led the charge at the next group of Hollows.

* * *

><p>Matsumoto gasped as Gin's blade speared her captain's arm and was then wrenched out roughly. Her blue eyes widened as more blood fell from the sky.<p>

'C-captain,' he voice shook. She was about to jump forwards and attack Ichimaru recklessly, when a cool hand touched her arm.

'Don't,' she turned to stare at Kurayami's calm face, 'Just wait here for a moment,'

The arrancar shinigami vanished and appeared beside Toshiro who was clutching his arm and glaring at Gin, then, taking his wrist, she reappeared beside Matsumoto.

'I can still fight,' Toshiro stated as he saw Rangiku's horrified look. He tried to stand but his leg, which had also been slashed, gave way and he fell to his knees again.

Standing in the air, Gin watched in amusement as Rangiku turned to glare daggers at him. It was surprising, but the young captain had badly injured him multiple times and once, only a mix of his hierro and regeneration ability saved him from being mortally wounded.

_Ya're a lot better than last time, _he thought as his gaze drifted to the white haired captain. Then he turned a little further, narrowed eyes finding Izuru almost immediately.

The melancholy blonde was squaring off against a thin looking Hollow, zanpakuto released and ready. Gin knew that his former Lieutenant's zanpakuto's name was Wabisuke, but he still didn't have a clear idea of what it did. Although, after seeing Izuru fight during the Winter War, he was pretty sure the strangely shaped blade could make stuff heavy.

'Good luck Izuru!' he called out cheerfully.

Blue eyes widened and the Third Division Lieutenant's head snapped up to stare at him. There was an intense anger and guilt in his eyes and Gin just smiled and waved at him.

With a loud cry, the Lieutenant began running in the opposite direction, relentlessly slashing through Hollow after Hollow.

Ichimaru's eyes narrowed further, if it were even possible, and he gestured to the arrancar Hollow that Izuru had been going to fight. It nodded its wonky head and then took off after the furious man. Gin was surprised at how easily the blonde was killing the Hollows, even some of the stronger ones, but he also knew that a lot of emotion was fuelling Izuru and that he was probably the cause of that emotion. In any case, the Lieutenant would probably be dead soon.

* * *

><p>More blood splattered across the Sogyoku Hill as the arrancar got close enough to Izuru to spear him with four long prongs which snapped off in his body.<p>

Before it could finish the startled man off, Hisagi Shuuhei swung his released Kazeshini out and sliced the arrancar in two. The two twin bladed kusarigama like weapons, connected by a long chain, were incredibly efficient at the task of killing multiple Hollows, and the chain meant that, in instances like that one, he could also attack from a fair distance away.

'Kira!' helping the other man rise, Hisagi turned in the direction of the Fourth Division, 'Come on, let's go,'

The two of them vanished from the Hill, leaving Gin slightly disappointed at the same time as strangely relieved.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Poor everyone . . . that's a pretty spectacular way to ruin a nice morning


	30. Chapter 30: Different Types of Chaos

_Chapter 30: Different Types of Chaos_

'Stop staring at me like that, Matsumoto,' Toshiro grumbled at his Lieutenant.

'Sorry Captain,' she looked away, hiding her face.

Kurayami had just finished healing the captain and, although Matsumoto was incredibly glad, she couldn't help but blame herself for his injuries.

'It's my turn,' Rangiku looked up at the grinning form of her childhood friend and frowned, 'Growl, Heineko!'

As his Lieutenant jumped into the air, Toshiro stood up and stretched his fully healed arm. He'd sensed Izuru leave the Sogyoku Hill earlier and assumed he'd been injured. Hisagi's reiatsu had reappeared though and he thought he could see him fighting.

A red cero shot past him and he turned to see a smoking hole in the ground a few metres from him. As the menos grande made their first moves, Lieutenants Abarai and Hisagi, along with Ikkaku and Yumichika, raced past and began furiously attacking the massive Hollows.

His eyes picked out Ichigo, Rukia and Uryu fighting hard near the edge of the Hill, and then he watched Kyoraku and Ukitake vanish into the Seireitei. He frowned, knowing that if they were leaving the Hill, then there must be trouble down below. He also noted that Zaraki had vanished and wondered if the whole thing had become too 'tame' for the fearsome captain.

There was a shout from behind him and he turned to see Ikkaku fly over the edge of the cliff after being hit by a point blank cero. Yumichika hesitated before jumping after his friend.

Knowing that something like that wouldn't stop the Third Seat, Toshiro guessed that those two would continue fighting down below.

_It really is chaos,_ he thought as his eyes once again took in the whole picture, including Matsumoto fighting Gin, _I wonder what the outcome will be_.

* * *

><p>Ise Nanao, Lieutenant of the Eighth Division under Captain Kyoraku, sighed for the tenth time. She had been asked by her captain to research shinigami turning into Hollows but, so far, in all of the books she'd scanned through had nothing to offer her. Taking off her glasses to clean the lenses, she wished that she had access to the Daireishokairo as the knowledge it contained was much more than what was in the library she was in. Trying to ignore the clashes of reiatsu outside, the dutiful Lieutenant walked into the next set of shelves.<p>

Suddenly one book caught her eyes and she pulled it out. It seemed to be a very large compilation of reports on strange circumstances occurring in west Rukongai.

Sighing at herself for getting her hopes raised, she flicked open the book and read a few lines:

_A Garganta opened in the winter of Junrinan and a large group of Hollow emerged.  
>Recounts from a few souls living there at the time, state that a shinigami arrived and drove all of them back, killing many. However, no such shinigami could be accounted for in the Seireitei.<br>One old lady said that the shinigami entered the Garganta and that it closed right after her._

Nothing else was relevant but Nanao believed that the shinigami the writer spoke of was the arrancar shinigami staying in the Soul Society currently. She had asked the girl, Kuromi Kurayami, how she'd become a Hollow, and she'd replied that she'd followed Hollows through a Garganta and into Hueco Mundo, becoming a Vasto Lorde arrancar upon arrival.

_Still_, a frown crossed the Lieutenant's face, _This report doesn't give any dates, or any more information. So all I've really found is knowledge to back up Kuromi's story._

Twitching in frustration, Nanao placed the volume on her already book covered table and then walked into another row of shelves.

* * *

><p>Mayuri hissed as he stared at the screen before him. Even after hacking into the Daireishokairo, he hadn't been able to find any record of a Sode no Kurayuki. The fact that the zanpakuto was so similar to Sode no Shirayuki, in name, release command and appearance, made it even more agitating when he found nothing. It wasn't like the time when Hitsugaya and Kusaka both manifested the same zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, because these katanas had different names. He'd bet his entire research specimen collection that the zanpakuto spirits were also different.<p>

At times like this, the captain imagined Urahara Kisuke laughing at him and explaining the whole concept of whatever he was trying to understand in a patronising way.

_He doesn't know everything! _his eyes widened in a manic way and he turned around to face another smaller screen, _I'll work this one out! I WILL!_

'Mayuri-sama,' Nemu's quiet voice made him whirl around, 'I made you some tea,'

Taking the proffered cup, the scientist set it down before slamming the back of his hand into Nemu's face, as he yelled at her, 'Don't interrupt me when I'm working! Can't you tell I didn't want to be disturbed!'

'I'm sorry, Mayuri-sama,' Nemu covered her bleeding lip with her hand, hardly noticing the wound.

Suddenly there was a high pitched beeping sound.

Turning back to the monitor, Mayuri was just in time to see an image if Urahara Kisuke appear on the screen. The shopkeeper grinned and Mayuri's eye twitched violently.

'What-?' the captain was surprised and annoyed at the same time, 'You! How did you-?'

Kisuke's grin widened as he cut the shocked man off, 'Never mind that,' he leaned a little closer, looking like he was about to pop out of the screen, 'I've heard that Ichimaru Gin's made a surprise visit to you all,'

'That's right,' the scientist had already identified Gin and realised that he could Hollowfy, 'What of it?'

'And that _you're _researching the two Sode no Yuki zanpakuto,' Mayuri was really dreading him continuing, lest his current worst fear come true, then the man raised his fan and looked over the top darkly, 'That's something worth being left alone,'

'Why?' Mayuri was sceptical now, glad despite himself that, at least, the infuriating man wasn't going to explain everything to him.

'I hope you aren't disappointed by what you find,' Kisuke snapped his fan shut and grinned again, 'Or _don't_ find,'

Then, before Mayuri could say anything else, the connection was terminated in a burst of light.

'Why you-,' the man was fuming. Not only had _that man _interrupted him and somehow gotten access to his heavily protected machine, but he'd said something mocking and cryptic and then just vanished.

'Ma-,' Nemu began before falling silent at her captain's venomous stare.

'Shut up and go away!' the captain was now completely obsessed with working out the secret of the zanpakuto and nothing was going to stop him.

* * *

><p>Unohana stared worriedly at the slow but steady stream of people filling the beds in the General Emergency Relief Station. Having Orihime there was very useful as, since the Winter War, she'd become much better at quickly and efficiently healing people's injuries.<p>

'Captain!' Isane hurried through the door, 'Kira Izuru's wounds have begun to fester. I think the claws of that Hollow had poison in them,'

'Orihime,' the orange haired girl looked up from healing one of unconscious shinigami, Unohana smiled at her, 'Please come with me. I believe your abilities will be of much help in this situation,'

'Yes!' Orihime was so glad she was able to help for once. Since her combat abilities were low, this was something she was able to do, and she was pretty good as well.

Unohana led the way to one of the rooms, only one of the four beds was occupied but that didn't change anything.

'Oh my,' Orihime gasped when she saw the dark liquid oozing out of four large wounds on Kira's body, 'I'll get started right away!'

She ran over, calling out to Shuno and Ayame, and the golden oval covered Kira. Agonisingly slowly the injuries slowly began getting rejected by Orihime's power.

Unohana nodded at the determined girl and then walked out, knowing that, in not too much longer, more patients would be arriving and requiring the Fourth Division's skills.

* * *

><p>'Ya can't beat me Rangiku,' Gin's grin faded slightly, replaced by an almost sorrowful look, 'Ya're just a Lieutenant,'<p>

'So what?' Matsumoto was slightly puffed and she had multiple cuts and even a few bruises, even so, the burn in her pale blue eyes hadn't dimmed, 'It's not like you can kill me. We've known each other for too long,'

Rangiku suddenly realised that, back in the World of the Living, she had remembered it was Gin's reiatsu and spoken as such, but her words hadn't come out the way she wanted and then, as soon as she fell asleep, she'd forgotten about the incident entirely.

_It's leaving, _she pondered her thoughts, _I meant Gin, didn't I? The way he always left without saying where he was going._

'Perhaps ya're right,' Gin vanished only to appear directly before her, one arm extended and touching her shoulder lightly, 'I really can't kill ya, Rangiku,'

Matsumoto was momentarily confused, then surprised, but suddenly Gin's hand tightened on her shoulder, hard enough to almost make her cry out in pain.

Then there was a burst of red.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Everyone seems so busy, don't they? Oh, and look out Rangiku! Just because Gin says something, you really, really shouldn't just go with it! He's not to be trusted!


	31. Chapter 31: As They Fall

_Chapter 31: As They Fall _

As Toshiro looked back at Gin and Rangiku's fight, he saw the arrancar shinigami's hand clench on his Lieutenant's shoulder. There was a snapping sound as her collar bone broke and then a blast of red.

Turning his head, eyes wide in shock as Gin let Matsumoto's body fall, Toshiro saw the menos grande who had fired the cero, having come up surprisingly close unnoticed. Eyes glazed with fury, he slashed out with Hyorinmaru and the ice dragon flew from the tip of the zanpakuto, destroying the menos almost instantly.

There was a blur of black and Shuuhei appeared, catching the broken and battered Matsumoto.

Toshiro turned to him, 'Take her to the Fourth Division and then stay there and guard it,'

'Yes sir,' Hisagi vanished with Matsumoto.

Toshiro took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, but failing.

* * *

><p>Gin didn't move, he wasn't planning to either. His idea was to wait until someone was foolish enough to attack him.<p>

Injuring Rangiku that way had been a stroke of genius as, obviously, he was still under her defenses enough to get that close to her in the first place. Calling the menos over and masking its reiatsu with his own had also been a brilliantly effective plan as he knew that Hitsugaya was occupied making sure everyone else was okay, and he'd assumed that the arrancar girl wasn't going to react.

Grin deepening, Gin found that he was really enjoying this. Especially since none of the other captains had come to challenge him.

* * *

><p>'Kurosaki,' Toshiro and Kurayami used shunpo to appear beside Ichigo and his friends, 'Get out of here now,'<p>

'What?' Ichigo, Rukia and Uryu stared at him as if he was crazy.

'You heard me,' the young captain's voice was deadly serious, 'Leave now so that I can use any of my bankai techniques without having to worry about killing one of you lot,'

'Ichigo,' Rukia was serious as well, 'Let's go,' she looked around and saw that her Nee-sama had disappeared, 'Oh, he must have gone to help Ukitake,' she mumbled, sensing that their reiatsu was close to each other.

'Ichigo,' Uryu began walking to the edge of the Hill, 'Come on,'

Ichigo sighed and turned around, then he and Rukia vanished using shunpo, and Uryu disappeared using Hirenkyaku.

Toshiro turned around and stared at the man in the sky, he closed his eyes, reiatsu output skyrocketing, 'Bankai, Daiguren Hyorinmaru!'

Ice swept out from him and across the ground, 'Gin!'

* * *

><p>As the ice wings drew him into the air, Toshiro used shunpo to get close to Ichimaru and then slashed at him with his zanpakuto. Gin moved slightly and blocked his strike with a grin. Frowning, the young captain jumped backwards.<p>

Suddenly, Toshiro saw Renji and Momo fighting a way towards them, looking rather worn out.

Hinamori was about to call out when a Hollow reared beside her and she was thrown through the air, landing in a heap some metres away.

Toshiro was frozen as he watched her struggling to get up, his former rage exploding in his mind. Renji engaged the Hollow and was about to kill it when it leapt over him, landing beside Momo again and smashed its foot down upon her. The girl rolled out of the way but the movement was too slow to completely dodge the attack. A scream tore from her throat as her left shoulder was crushed.

Renji yelled out and sliced the Hollow in half, then he asked his old friend if she was okay. She nodded weakly and he picked her up, turning and using shunpo to speed towards the Fourth Division.

'Hitsugaya,' Gin's mocking voice suddenly drew his attention, 'Don't take yer eyes of yer opponent,'

And then Shinso shot forwards and impaled the white haired captain's stomach. With a cruel smile, Gin pulled down on the hilt, cutting through more of Toshiro's middle and slashing his leg.

'Or else ya're gonna die,' the former captain retracted his blade and sheathed it with another grin.

* * *

><p>Kurayami, standing quite a distance away from Ichimaru, watched Toshiro fall and hit the ground, ice wings shattering and blood beginning to pool around him. Her eyes darkened as she stared.<p>

_Captain Hitsugaya was, _she blinked suddenly, _A . . . friend._

The word echoed in her mind and she turned to look at Gin's grinning face as he began to turn away.

As she took a step forwards in the sky, the man in front of her spun around, 'Shoot to kill, Shinso,'

The black haired arrancar shinigami felt the blade enter her chest and then slash disgonally across her body, creating a similar wound to Hitsugaya's, and then she fell to her knees.

Gin appeared a few metres from her, 'Aren't ya gonna regenerate?'

Standing, a flaring black light began emanating from her body as both flesh and cloth was restored.

'Ichimaru Gin,' her voice was like the coldest winter, 'Prepare youself,'

The silver haired man raised Shinso.

'Dance,' arms extended and one hand rotating counter-clockwise, Kurayami began releasing her zanpakuto, 'Sode no Kurayuki,'

* * *

><p>There was a pause as both parties surveyed each other, Kurayami completely sealing away her reiatsu again.<p>

'That's quite impressive,' Gin held out his zanpakuto, 'So whattaya gonna do now?'

'Some no mai,' Kurayami held her zanpakuto out upside down, 'Tsukikuro,'

Appearing beside Ichimaru, she made a slashing motion with her blade and then jumped away. Instantly, a massive pillar of black ice formed around the man.

Watching the ice intently, Kurayami touched the black ribbon trailing from the end of the zanpakuto.

There was a burst of white reiatsu and Gin stepped from the falling shards. Kurayami made another movement with her katana and the pieces shattered in midair, instead of falling onto the ground, possibly near Hitsugaya.

Swinging his zanpakuto, Gin let Shinso extend with full force. Kurayami jumped out of the way, vanishing and then attempting to use Senka.

Gin swiveled and blocked her strike, Shinso at it normal wakizashi size.

The pair began using shunpo to vanish and clash repeatedly, sparks of ice and heat flew down from them.

* * *

><p>Toshiro struggled to remain conscious and his fingers twitched on the hilt of his zanpakuto. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw Kurayami release her zanpakuto and then use a technique almost identical to Rukia's first dance, except that it was much faster.<p>

There was ice on the ground, some shattered fragments and then a layer of ice covering the ground directly under where Kurayami had been when she released Sode no Kurayami.

He tried to move, but found that anything more than breathing was impossible. Cursing silently, he tried to focus his eyes on the rapid battle going on above him.

* * *

><p>'Tsugi no mai,' Kurayami punctured the ground four times in a semi-circle before her, 'Hakuren,'<p>

The wave of white ice stopped the deadly arc of Shinso.

'Why's that one white?' Gin knew that Kuchiki Rukia had an identical technique to this one, albeit a bit weaker and slower.

'Why do you care?' appearing before him, Kurayami began a sequence of attacks that had Gin stumbling backwards. The actual reason for the change in the tint of the ice was because, when she'd become a Vasto Lorde arrancar, her second dance had just gone white. Simple.  
>Kurayami slashed upwards, black ice trailing from her blade and shooting towards him as daggers.<p>

Raising his hand, Ichimaru pulled out his Hollow mask and, using the enhanced speed, destroyed the ice daggers.

'Ya made me Hollowfy,' his grin, still clearly visible, widened, and his black Hollow eyes glittered. For some reason, he felt that, despite the speed and strength of her previous attacks, his opponent was holding back a lot. And it annoyed him.

Raising his hand, palm facing the other arrancar shinigami, Gin charged his silver cero.

'Just die already,' he said casually as the blast shot from his hand.

Kurayami straightened, facing him, when she spoke, Gin could barely hear her words, 'I,' there was a pause and a heavy tone of regret overcame her voice, 'See,'

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

So the Fourth Division must be having a hard time right about now . . .


	32. Chapter 32: Ice Rains Down from the Sky

_Chapter 32: Ice Rains Down from the Sky_

There was a cracking sound and a wall of thin black ice grew up around the three still on Sogyoku Hill, encasing them in a large circle, some ten metres high.

Kurayami began burning with a freezing, dense black light. The reiatsu shooting high into the sky. Ichimaru's cero disintegrated when it reached three metres from her.

Brown, red tinted, eyes looked up at him and suddenly the grinning man thought he was going to be crushed with the sudden weight of reiatsu, even with his mask on. As he stared at her, he felt like his whole body was being frozen and shattered extremely slowly. The pain was excruciating, and it was only when he looked down at his hands that he realised that what he was feeling was only the young woman's killing intent.

Faster than he could follow, Kurayami moved to Hitsugaya's side, black energy flowing into her right hand which she placed on his chest. As Shinso shot towards her, she raised her other hand and took the full force of the blow without being cut or even having her hand moved slightly.

After Shinso had retracted again, Kurayami moved her fingers over the ice on the ground before her and then jerked her arm, sending hundreds of ice shards at Ichimaru.

Gin's grin faded slightly and his eyes opened fractionally as he batted away as many pieces as he could and got sliced up by the others, and watched Toshiro's wound vanishing.

'Yer not playin' fair,' he said mournfully, 'Releasin' all yer reiatsu like that,'

'All of my reiatsu?' crimson tinted eyes looked up at him, the energy around her flickering, 'This isn't even half,'

* * *

><p>Rukia, Ichigo and Uryu had just arrived at the Fourth Division, panting after disabling so many Hollows, when a shockwave went through the air and a new reiatsu flared. Turning back to Sogyoku Hill, the three of them witnessed a column of black reiatsu piercing the sky, making the pale early afternoon sunlight seem dim.<p>

'What?' Ichigo managed to say as wave after wave of forceful energy buffeted them, 'Is that reiatsu?'

'Of course,' Uryu's snap lacked its usual bite due to the fact that he was, like Rukia, having a bit of a hard time standing up.

'It's Kuromi's,' Rukia sounded amazed, 'I know because of the ice that appeared up there before. Some of those techniques were almost identical to Sode no Shirayuki's,'

'Really?' Ichigo did remember seeing a pillar of black ice followed by a wave of white ice appearing briefly up there before. He'd also sensed Gin's reiatsu flare once too.

'Of course,' Uryu sighed again as the pressure lessened considerably, changing from being quite offensive to just calm.

'They must be going all out up there,' Ichigo paused, tilting his head to one side, 'But come to think of it, I haven't sensed Toshiro's reiatsu in a while,'

'He must've been badly injured,' suddenly the change in the feel of the spiritual pressure made sense, 'But I think Kuromi's healing him now,'

'And stopping Gin?' Rukia shook her head, turning away she continued walking to where she could sense another group of Hollows, 'Let's go. We've got work to do as well,'

* * *

><p>'K-,' Toshiro sat abruptly and began coughing hard, hand touching his healed side. No sign remained of the wound at all, even his shihakusho was mended.<p>

'Nice to see ya again,' Gin called out, his cheer hiding the anger he was feeling, 'Where were we?'

Toshiro stood and pointed his zanpakuto at Gin, 'Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!'

There was so much ice already in the air that the ice wings and tail formed almost instantly. As clouds began to close over the blue sky, blotting out the light, Toshiro jumped forwards, calling out, 'Tenso Jurin!'

Gin blocked his first strike and then had to turn to dodge Kurayami's attack.

Jumping backwards, away from the two ice-wielders, he let his grin drop, 'This ain't fair. Two against one is uneven,'

'Sorry, Gin,' the white haired captain spoke coldly, 'With the Soul Society at stake, things can't be so nice,'

'You could have stayed in Hueco Mundo and fought me one-on-one there,' Kurayami added, glancing at the still open Garganta behind them.

'It that's the way it gotta be,' Ichimaru raised his zanpakuto, 'Bankai,' Toshiro's eyes widened slightly, 'Kamishini no Yari,'

* * *

><p>As the greatly lengthened blade shot past Toshiro's head at a faster speed than before, he was worried about how much damage the long zanpakuto could unintentionally deal to the Seireitei. Kurayami appeared beside him.<p>

'When Shinso, or Kamishini no Yari, expands and contracts, the blade turns to dust for the briefest second,' her eyes never left Gin's smiling face, 'There is only one way to forcefully return that zanpakuto to its shikai form,'

Vanishing from his side, the arrancar shinigami appeared before Gin, hand grasping onto the retracted zanpakuto, 'Aren't you going to try and kill me again?'

'Why do ya ask?' Gin grinned at her as he adjusted his zanpakuto's hilt slightly in his grip.

Kurayami didn't answer, but she moved her right arm, the side her zanpakuto was on, as if she was about to attack.

Kamishini no Yari shot through her side, not extending fully, and Gin glanced at her as if surprised, 'Oops,'

'Ichimaru,' her voice was even, 'Would you retract your zanpakuto,'

It wasn't a question.

Nodding agreeably, the silver haired man withdrew his zanpakuto. As it reformed its usual shape, black ice ran along its length. Smile faltering slightly, Gin tapped on the blade, shattering the ice instantly.

'What was that for?' he asked in a hurt voice, 'That was mean,'

'Really?' Toshiro appeared behind him, swinging Hyorinmaru downwards, 'I thought it was rather clever,'

Suspicion grew in Gin's eyes and he swung his zanpakuto out towards Toshiro. The blade extended, but it was shikai.

'What did ya do?' the man sounded practically heartbroken, he rounded on Kurayami, 'What did ya do to it?'

'Can you stay Hollowfied for a long time?' the white haired captain asked, noting that Gin's fox snake mask was still in place.

'Of course,' Gin's smile returned, 'And as long as I can, I can always heal from your attacks,'

'True,' the other two turned when Kurayami spoke again, 'Being a Hollow and not just a shinigami who gained a mask, you should be able to stay Hollowfied forever,'

She vanished from where she'd been standing, continually moving so that she remained unseen.

Toshiro took Gin's surprise as an opportunity to attack and so he clashed blades with the silver haired man again, momentarily gaining the upper-hand.

With an expressionless face, Gin began his own close ranged attack, using his new strength and speed to confuse the young captain.

Thinking that this type of attack wasn't working, Toshiro jumped backwards, raising Hyorinmaru,'Sennen Hyoro,'

As the pillars of ice rose from the ground, the captain twisted the zanpakuto's hilt counter-clockwise, and the columns began closing in on Gin.

'Sorry,' the man raised his zanpakuto.

As the blade shot forwards, Toshiro dodged, then watched as one swing cut the ice pillars in half. Thinking fast, he realised that he needed to use more powerful techniques.

'Hyoten Hyakkaso,' he'd been training hard and consequently decided that, even if he used this technique, not everyone in the Seireitei was at risk of being frozen.

As the beam of light shot from his zanpakuto and pierced the dark, heavy clouds, Gin's eyes opened fully and he stared at the white haired captain in evident surprise.

Kurayami appeared beside the man, her eyes on the hole forming in the clouds, 'Ichimaru. Why did you call all of the Hollows in Hueco Mundo to attack the Soul Society today?'

'What does it matter to ya?' the silver haired man asked in his usual way, tapping Shinso on his shoulder.

'You could have remained the ruler of Hueco Mundo forever instead of coming here to die,' her expressionless tone made it hard to work out the true meaning of her words for a few brief moments.

Ichimaru raised one hand and waved it in the air, 'That's no fun. I'm guessin' ya lived there for a while, so ya should understand,'

Kurayami didn't reply, but her eyes flicked to the ice flower that had just bloomed on Gin's extended hand.

* * *

><p>The ice flowers began blooming rapidly, reaching upwards from the ground and beginning to encase Gin.<p>

The silver haired arrancar shinigami frowned, 'What's all this?'

'Hyoten Hyakkaso,' Toshiro repeated, he gestured to the falling snow, 'Anything that comes in contact with that snow, freezes instantaneously into a flower-like shape,' he glanced up at Gin's surprised face, 'By the time the flowers blossom in the hundreds,'

Kurayami closed red tinted eyes and spoke just before Toshiro continued, 'It won't kill you. Don't look so shocked,'

Gin glanced at her, his head practically the only part of him not held in ice, 'What?'

Toshiro was also surprised but figured he'd better stay quiet for the time being. Ichimaru's narrowed eyes still showed slight confusion as the last flowers bloomed over his head.

Turning to Kurayami, Toshiro gave her a questioning look.

'Ichimaru is still Hollowfied, the slightest increase in his reiatsu would break that ice,' she spoke without looking at him, 'The slightest movement he makes would shatter that prison. That is not the way to kill him,'

Toshiro suddenly felt the reiatsu of other captains and lieutenants beginning to appear outside Kurayami's ice wall. He assumed they were leaving the protection of the Seireitei and Rukongai to the members of their Divisions.

If they'd come back, then it probably meant that they needed to finish Gin quickly and focus on the still invading Hollows.

'What do we do?' he sensed the ice flowers beginning to crumble at the base of the tower at the same time a couple of the purple petals behind his back shattered. His frown deepened as he realised that, despite all of his training since the Winter War, his bankai was still on a time limit.

'Surprise him a little more,' Kurayami's words were almost lost in the sudden crashing of shattering ice.

* * *

><p>'That was cold,' Gin grinned at the two shinigami watching him, 'Hitsugaya, that wasn't very nice of ya,'<p>

'I'm not going to apologise,' Toshiro tried to keep the former captain's attention, 'If you're about to ask,'

'Course not,' looking up suddenly, Gin tilted his head to one side, 'Where's your friend?'

Toshiro glanced over the silver haired man's shoulder, eyes meeting Kurayami's as she stood in the air, arms extended, zanpakuto clutched tightly in her right hand.

'Bankai,' Gin spun around and, once again, opened his eyes, focusing on the black haired arrancar shinigami, 'Chisode no Kurayuki,'

Cold air and ice particles rushed outwards, slicing thin cuts all over Ichimaru's shihakusho, but not one touched Toshiro.

The swirling snow filled air made it hard to see anything. Suddenly, there was a flash of red and the air cleared.

Kurayami stood in the same position as before, zanpakuto readied before her. However, there were some significant changes to her appearance.

Sode no Kurayuki's long black ribbon that had flowed from the pommel had been replaced with a blood red one, but apart from that and the blade lengthening slightly, it was the same black katana.

The main change was with her attire. Her shihakusho had changed so that the whole thing was long, like Kurosaki's bankai outfit. As in, after it passed her lower back, it split into two wide sections that almost reached her ankles, flaring out from her waist at the front. The inside of this part was a deep, blood red – a darker shade than the ribbon. There was a low collar and the top part was crossed over, like a normal shihakusho, but form fitting. The obi around her waist had also vanished.

'Bankai?' Gin sounded shocked, he shook his head, 'I hate surprises,'

Toshiro raised Hyorinmaru, drawing on his full reiatsu.

Behind Gin, Kurayami mirrored the movement, black reiatsu flaring again. The cold wall around the trio came crashing down, sending clouds of snow dust into the air.

Ice spun from the hilts of both zanpakuto.

'Gin,' Toshiro met half open sky blue eyes, 'It's over,'

Then the mass of ice, one coloured lightly blue, the other a translucent black, shot from the tips of both blades and met where Ichimaru Gin was standing.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Everyone's going all out . . . it is going to end?


	33. Chapter 33: One Solution, the End

_Chapter 33: One Solution to Bring About the End_

Rukia's eyes widened as she watched the massive shards of ice falling from the wall of the ring that covered much of the top of the Sogyoku Hill. All of the captains were standing ready now, and most of the Lieutenants.

As she watched, two waves of different coloured ice met, sending out such forceful pressure, that all the powdered ice in the air was swept away.

Sensing the reiatsu of Lieutenants Matsumoto, Kira and Hinamori arriving, she turned to look at the awed faces around her.

Then she returned her full attention to the sky.

* * *

><p>Toshiro was panting, Hyorinmaru's tip pointing at the ground. The massive output of his reiatsu had exhausted him. Looking forwards, he saw the frozen ice waves and, faintly, he could see Gin sealed inside. Raising his head slightly higher, he saw Kurayami standing on the other end of the ice, zanpakuto still in her hand.<p>

'Captain!' Matsumoto's voice startled him and he turned with an effort, eyes immediately finding his Lieutenant amongst the ground of high level shinigami, 'You did it!'

'Matsumoto!' his voice was rendered expressionless due to fatigue, although he was surprised to see her up already, 'Are you alright?'

'I'm fine,' she was smiling at him, 'Orihime healed me,'

Head Captain Yamamoto took a step forwards and everyone's attention moved to him, 'Is Ichimaru Gin dead?'

Behind him, the young captain heard the ice that encased Gin breaking. However, this time, the figure of the former captain shattered along with it. Below, many pairs of eyes widened.

A cool hand touched his back and Toshiro jolted slightly, realising that Kurayami was restoring his reiatsu. Looking back down at the waiting group, he sighed in slight relief.

Then there was an inhuman scream.

* * *

><p>Once the first cry sounded, thousands more followed. The shinigami on Sogyoku Hill turned to face the still open Garganta, watching the Hollows there wailing. Menos grande began to step out and hundreds of other Hollows massed behind them.<p>

Kurayami stepped away from the white haired captain, using shunpo to appear some metres from Yamamoto.

'The king of the Hollows is dead,' the arrancar shinigami's voice was expressionless, her eyes on the sky, 'But they are not grieving,'

'What do their calls mean then?' Soifon spoke in her usual short way.

'They are preparing to fight and kill,' Kurayami met the Second Division captain's eyes, 'Without someone to order them around, their basic instincts surface once again. They will not just fight shinigami, or kill humans, they will also fight each other in an attempt to become powerful,'

'What's going to happen then?' Unohana sounded concerned at the mention of fighting and killing.

'If all the Hollows are killed, the Balance of Souls will be destroyed,' Renji sounded tired but still determined to set everything right again, 'How are we supposed to get them all to go back to Hueco Mundo?'

'Even if all the Hollows get sent back,' Kurayami spoke again, 'They will only fight amongst each other and break into the World of the Living, until there are almost no Hollows left and chaos in the Human World,'

'Then there is no solution,' Izuru, despite being lucky to escape death, sounded depressed as well as exhausted.

'Incorrect,' Kurayami sounded slightly sad herself, 'There is one,'

* * *

><p>'What? Tell us!' Momo cried out, forgetting momentarily to be polite, 'I'm sorry!' she blushed slightly, 'Would you please tell us?'<p>

'I will . . . show you,' the intense regret and sorrow in Kurayami's tone made everyone, even the Head Captain, feel slightly apprehensive about what was about to occur.

Vanishing from the ground, Kurayami appeared in the air, bankai shihakusho fluttering in the slight late afternoon breeze.

Toshiro realised that, in reality, not that much had passed since the fight against Gin had started, but his attention quickly shifted.

Kurayami raised her pale hand and rested her fingertips against her forehead. Black and deep red light, different shades to Kurosaki's, grew around her hand and then she let her arm drop.

When the arrancar shinigami looked down at the waiting group, her sclera were completely black, and her irises a burning crimson.

Momo and Rangiku gasped and Ichigo blinked, knowing the look of a Hollowfied shinigami when he saw one, even without the mask.

Then Kurayami's reiatsu burst from her body, creating a thick column of black. This time, Toshiro realised that it was denser and more powerful. Her full reiatsu.

The Lieutenants suddenly found themselves being forced to their hands and knees, fingers pressing against the ground in an attempt to stay upright and not be pushed flat on their faces. Rukia glanced at Orihime and realised that the girl had called out her shield only to have it crack instantly under pure pressure.

'Just stay low,' she managed to say to the orange haired girl who was lying flat on the ground already. Orihime glanced at Chad and saw that he was bent over, Uryu was sitting on the ground, and only Ichigo remained standing properly.

'What reiatsu!' Ukitake commented, receiving a few glances for his obvious observation.

Suddenly the blackness swept away.

Everyone straightened and looked to the sky.

* * *

><p>Kurayami's bankai attire had gone completely white, with black rims on everything except the hakama. The long coattails had vanished and, in their place, was a blood coloured sash that wrapped once around the arrancar's waist and then tied at the back, the long ends of the fabric reaching her ankles. Her moon pale skin had changed to a harder white and her irises remained red, showing her complete Hollowfication. Like the former Espada, her sclera were white, the black fading away.<br>A flutter of darkness drew everyone's attention to her previously short black hair. A few pairs of eyes widened as the shinigami and watching humans realised that the straight mass of smooth black reached her waist. However, the untidy strands around her face remained the same.

Chisode no Kurayuki was clasped in her hand.

'What's this?' Yamamoto boomed, 'Are you no longer a shinigami?'

'No,' Kurayami's tone was final, expressionless but cool. She raised her hand, pulling down on the low collar of her shihakusho, revealing her shoulder. The number zero was tattooed on her arm in thick black, 'I am the Cero Espada. Before Aizen's arrival in Hueco Mundo, there was a king, a ruler of Hollows. Now, the zero Espada rules,'

'Then we will have to kill you,' the Head Captain's eyes were open.

'I cannot allow that,' the Espada turned and began walking away, towards the Garganta. Hollows rose from the Seireitei and began to pass through the massive gateway at Kurayami's silent order.

Toshiro hesitated only once before using shunpo to approach the Cero Espada

Matsumoto called out to him as well as the Head Captain but he ignored them. Appearing behind Kurayami, he paused, uncertain of how he could talk to her without the others below thinking he was a traitor – or something.

* * *

><p>Kurayami twisted slightly, sensing Toshiro's appearance, then an ice filled wind blew up and surrounded the pair in a swirling mass of white.<p>

Facing him fully, the coldness left the Espada's face and she looked more like she had before her Hollowfication, 'You wanted to say something?' her tone was sad.

'Well,' Toshiro hesitated, 'Farewell, I guess,' he held out a tiny, neat packet of amanattō, 'Here,'

The young captain froze when Kurayami stepped forwards and hugged him. As she pulled back, taking the packet, she smiled at him and, although it was a devastatingly sorrowful expression, the way the movement softened her face was breathtaking.

Turning away once more, with the circle of swirling snow dissipated around them, Kurayami spoke one final time, 'Thank you, Toshiro. Goodbye,'

The snow blew away fully and all of the shinigami watched as the Cero Espada led the remaining Hollows through the Garganta. Pausing a short way inside, Kurayami raised her arm, bringing it level with her shoulder, and then, with a great sighing sound, the hole in the sky sealed and nothing remained of its existence except for a slight disturbance in the clouds.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

It could have ended there . . . but it doesn't . . . not yet


	34. Chapter 34: Deciding Fate, a Conclusion

_Chapter 34: Deciding Fate, a Conclusion_

The captains and lieutenants of the Thirteen Protection Squads were silent, staring at the sky and the single shinigami remaining in the air. There was a cracking of ice and Toshiro's bankai disintegrated, the young captain falling slowly to the ground.

As he landed, Matsumoto ran forwards, forgetting about her recently healed injuries, and knelt beside him.

Turquoise eyes met pale blue ones and Toshiro sighed, 'I'm sorry Matsumoto,'

'Sorry?' realising that he probably meant Gin, she smiled sadly, 'Don't worry. The Gin I knew died when Aizen killed him,'

Understanding flashed through sad eyes and then Toshiro straightened, looking at the Head Captain and noting his thoughtful expression.

Some of the gathered shinigami turned to leave when Yamamoto spoke, 'Wait!' as they returned their attention to him, he continued, 'This is an order,'

Everyone waited in apprehension.

'The next time the Cero Espada is sighted, she should be killed immediately as a traitor,' his eyes closed, 'A danger to the Soul Society and the World of the Living,'

There was a silence and then a collective intake of breath. Toshiro could hardly believe his ears, despite the fact that Kurayami had most probably saved all three worlds, orders for her execution had already been passed.

'I can't follow that order,' Rukia walked out from group of Lieutenants and away from the few humans, stopping a few metres in front of the Head Captain, 'Even if she hadn't saved me from Gin, I wouldn't want her dead just because she's a Hollow,'

'You're an unseated shinigami,' Yamamoto spoke again, 'Your opinion holds no weight,'

'Well I agree,' Ichigo came to stand beside Rukia, 'We owe her a lot. Friends don't just turn on each other like that,'

'Substiture shinigami,' the Head Captain wasn't going to be persuaded easily, 'Despite the fact that you were vitally important in the Winter War, you are not part of any of the Protection Squads. My decision does not change,'

'I for one could never lift my blade against such a beautiful woman again,' Yumichika wandered over to stand near Toshiro, Matsumoto, Rukia and Ichigo, 'Sorry Head Captain,'

'A Fifth Seat also does not hold much power of these decisions,' when Ikkaku opened his mouth to speak, Yamamoto cut him off, 'Or a Third,'

'I'm not a shinigami,' Chad spoke in his usual deep way, 'So I can't dispute your decision. However, I thought I'd say this,' he paused, 'Once I doubted her, but now I think I understand a bit more. Even when she fought someone as powerful as that man, she didn't want to release her full power. Despite this, as soon as a friend was injured badly, she began fighting properly – so in that regard she fought to protect,' he looked up, 'And I understand that,'

Renji sauntered over to stand by Rukia, Ikkaku coming along just for the sake of doing so too, 'For some reason, Head Captain, I don't feel that someone like her is going to start killing for fun,'

'Lieutenant Abarai,' Yamamoto sounded slightly surprised but he spoke warningly.

Orihime skipped over, 'What I say mightn't make sense, and probably won't have any effect, but I found her really amazing. She healed, even though it wasn't something she said she was good at, and she was nice. Someone like her seems so cold at first, but I felt like she was a really brilliant person,'

'This situation really changes depending on how you look at it,' Yoruichi appeared beside Matsumoto, 'On one hand, yeah, she deserted the Soul Society with an army of Hollows,' the woman glanced around, 'But on the other she probably prevented the collapse of the Balance of Souls,'

Soifon appeared at her mentor's side, 'I can't agree either. It is my duty as a captain to protect both the World of the Living and the Soul Society and in this case, letting her live helps to fulfill those duties,'

'Captain Soifon,' Yamamoto considered her, 'You do understand the consequences of your words?'

Before the Second Division captain could reply, Byakuya appeared behind Rukia, 'Her pride was in the right place. I do not think the Soul Society will come to any great harm because of this,'

This time Yamamoto remained silent and Toshiro had the odd suspicion that he'd been testing everyone by ordering Kurayami's execution.

'It's true,' Uryu smiled ruefully, 'A shinigami is a shinigami and there isn't much you can do about that,' he sighed.

Momo walked to stand beside Toshiro, 'Although she didn't linger in our lives for very long, I feel that she became a true friend to anyone who spent time with her,' her voice was determined, 'And friends aren't supposed to try and kill each other,'

Izuru managed to walk over and join the group, 'I agree with Hinamori,' he glanced at her, 'Raising your blade against a friend is the worst,'

* * *

><p>Shunsui decided to speak up after the quiet had gone on for a few minutes, he tilted up the brim of his wide hat, 'You should reconsider that decision,' he paused, 'Once that young lady asked me if I'd find it easier to kill her if she looked like a Hollow. The truth is, I'd find it harder to raise my blade against her now than I would've back then when she looked like a shinigami,'<p>

Ukitake nodded, 'I wouldn't be able to fight her,'

There was a movement to the right and everyone turned their attention to Toshiro.

The young captain had his eyes closed when he began to speak, 'In order to protect everyone, Kuromi sacrificed her freedom to rule over creatures a shinigami naturally abhors. Even if she was a Vasto Lorde arrancar, she was originally a shinigami,' he gestured to where he knew Uryu was standing, still not opening his eyes, 'Ishida noted that it takes a lot to change a shinigami, and I agree that going against those instincts would be almost impossible.  
>If the Hollows had not returned to Hueco Mundo, the fate of all three worlds would have been in danger,' he paused, 'And even if we managed to send them all back, Hollow war and meaningless attacks on the World of the Living would have broken out. One of our greatest responsibilities is protecting the living souls, so having large scale attacks occurring randomly would make that increasingly difficult,' Toshiro suddenly remembered what Kurayami had said when they first met, 'Once she said that she'd come to the Soul Society because it was more interesting than Hueco Mundo,' his eyes flashed open, 'And much less lonely. Leaving, knowing the bleakness that lay ahead,' he was slightly angry, 'How can that be called selfish?' then he relaxed again, 'And besides, a shinigami ruling Hueco Mundo should be a wonderful thing as the Hollow attacks shouldn't get out of hand. Why would someone who fought to protect human souls let them be taken without reservation?'<p>

Contemplative silence descended on the gathering as everyone considered the Tenth Division captain's words.

Then Yamamoto spoke, 'Captain Hitsugaya, everyone,' he turned and began walking away, 'The execution order is cancelled. However, if any one of you comes into contact with Kuromi Kurayami after a series of dangerous Hollow attacks, then fight without reserve,'

There was a general feeling of relief as everyone began to walk their separate ways.

Toshiro was stopped when the Head Captain spoke only to him, 'Hitsugaya, you have shown wisdom beyond your years. I believe the Soul Society is lucky to have you leading a Division,'

'Thank you,' Toshiro said quietly as Yamamoto and his Lieutenant vanished with rapid shunpo.

* * *

><p>'Captain,' Matsumoto ran over to him, having wandered off talking to Hinamori, 'Captain!'<p>

'I can hear you,' the white haired captain twitched in annoyance, especially when Ichigo and his friends all followed his Lieutenant over.

'Toshiro,' Ichigo began, about to say well done.

'That's Captain Hitsugaya!' Toshiro snapped, not willing to let that one pass. Ever.

Suddenly, the voice of Captain Kyoraku caught the attention of the shinigami and humans remaining on the Hill.

'So,' he was talking to Kurotsuchi, 'Did you ever work out the secret of those two zanpakuto?'

Mayuri grinned widely, 'Not at all!' everyone stared at him dumbstruck, 'I believe it is an unsolvable mystery that will remain so forever,'

Uryu pushed up his glasses, then he spoke to the people around his, sounding incredibly suspicious, 'Then why's he so happy?'

No one had an answer and so the Quincy left the Sogyoku Hill with a troubled expression.

'See you at the office Captain!' Matsumoto was the last shinigami to leave and she did so smiling.

Once the young captain was alone on the barren Hill, he began walking towards the edge where he planned to shunpo to the Tenth Division.

Turning, turquoise eyes glanced at the sky one last time.

There was a faint smile on the captain's usually frowning face as he vanished from the Hill.

_No_, _thank_ you.

* * *

><p>In the Thirteenth Division barracks, Ichigo and his friends were saying their farewells to Rukia and Renji. As the six of them left the building, a light rain of white made them pause.<p>

'How beautiful,' Rukia heard herself say, but her attention was captivated entirely by the sky.

* * *

><p>Toshiro arrived on the roof of the Tenth Division offices, when there was a sudden swirl of wind, and, carried along with it, was snow. And it wasn't from a zanpakuto.<p>

Looking at the sky again, everyone in the Seireitei watched the gentle flakes drift downwards as, after decades of sleet or nothing, it began to snow.

Toshiro held out his hand, voice peaceful, 'So finally, after all that, snow falls in the present,'

And then he smiled.

* * *

><p>Standing on the tallest building on the dome of Las Noches, the Cero Espada looked out over the desert sands of Hueco Mundo.<p>

_The short time that I spent with you, it was almost enough to make me forget the loneliness I've felt for so many years._

_The memories of those moments, I will hold them forever._

_In this dark place, let at least that much light fall._

Amanattō slid through white fingers to be blown away in the wind. Then, with a flutter of black hair and crimson cloth, Kuromi Kurayami turned and vanished into the dark and empty fortress.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Sorry about all of the talking . . . I couldn't get around it

Also, despite the fact that the story is finished - that is the end - there'll be an epilogue . . . so you can read it if you want . . .

Please do review as I'd love to know what you thought!


	35. Epilogue: Snow Falls in the Present

_Epilogue: Snow Falls in the Present  
><em>

Walking along the streets of the Seireitei, Hitsugaya Toshiro was hardly aware of the stares he was receiving as people stopped to watch him pass. In the last decade, the young captain had grown a rather astonishing twenty-six centimetres – no one knew how – and the looks he received conveyed messages that were considerably less innocent than the former 'he's so cute'.

With a couple of quick shunpo, the white haired captain arrived at the Tenth Division offices. As usual, his Lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku, was nowhere to be seen, but for once it didn't matter so much. Although he did hope she wouldn't appear later unconscious in one of the sitting rooms, possibly with other drunken shinigami, still clutching an empty sake bottle.

All of the members of the Tenth Division knew that, on one day every year, their captain was best left alone. Even Rangiku stayed away from Toshiro in an attempt to refrain from irritating him - although it wasn't too hard as she just found people to go drinking with.

Throughout the day, many shinigami would find their eyes drawn towards the prominent landform in the centre of the Seireitei, and their thoughts would drift.

* * *

><p>The sky looked heavy and, if it was the World of the Living, people would definitely be expecting snow. Days and days of endless white, presumably. However, in the Soul Society, no one expected any such thing. They hadn't expected it in years.<p>

Toshiro glanced at the Sogyoku Hill as he made his way through the now nicely established Tenth Division gardens, remembering the different events of past years that had occurred there. Passing through the thicker foliage closer to the buildings, he walked along until he found his favourite place: a small clearing surrounded by pale, thin trunked trees.

The view of the sunset was breathtaking.

As he stood, watching the golden glow begin to pass beneath the horizon, he sighed.

* * *

><p>A soft swish behind the white haired captain made him turn, just in time to watch a black Senkaimon open.<p>

Toshiro saw a flutter of crimson cloth and the smell of amanattō filled the air.

And then, for the first time in ten years, it began to snow.


End file.
